Digimon Adventure METAL EMPIRE
by rustycheeseknife
Summary: Following Etemon's defeat, Taichi and Agumon were pulled back into the real world, leaving their friends behind. Now that they've returned to the Digital World, they've a new mission: find their friends. But what new dangers await them? Meanwhile, in Taichi's absence, the burden of leadership falls to Yamato as he and the other children journey deeper into the Server Continent...
1. Endless Sunset

Taichi surveys the surrounding desert of the Server Continent, the sand stretching on as far as his eyes can see. Where had the portal dropped him? Can it be that he is now same place he had been thrown from after he and MetalGreymon had blown up Etemon? Anxiously, Taichi tries to spot the sphinx statue or the inverted pyramid where from he had rescued Sora. Then he remembers what had happened: both the pyramid and the sphinx had been obliterated by Etemon. From his standpoint, there are no familiar landmarks and no way of knowing where he is.

"Taichi!" a voice calls to him. Taichi immediately recognizes it.

"Agumon?" Taichi calls back, cupping his hands about his mouth and scanning the sands for his friends. He wipes a beads of sweat from his head as he does so. The sun shines brightly overhead, and Taichi is forced to squint his eyes tightly. Eventually, he spots Agumon in the distance. The orange reptile blends somewhat with the surrounding sand, making him easy to miss at a glance.

"Taichi!" Agumon calls out again, running as fast as his little legs can carry him. In turn, Taichi runs to meet his partner and gives him a great bear hug when they meet.

"Agumon, you're okay!" Taichi remarks.

"Taichi!" says Agumon happily, "I was so worried! You were gone for a long time and I thought you were going to stay behind."

"A long time?" says Taichi, puzzled. Then, he remembers: "Oh, that's right! Time works differently here." He thinks back to the calendar on his refrigerator and realizes that his brief goodbye to Hikari may not have been as brief within the Digital World. Thinking back on this, Taichi realizes that any traces of the obliterated pyramid or sphinx statue would have long been buried by the sand. But, there again, how long had that been?

Once again, Taichi looks towards the expanse of the surrounding desert, contemplating the next course of action he and Agumon are to take. Agumon takes his place beside Taichi and peers in the same direction.

"We're back," Agumon comments.

"Yeah," replies Taichi.

"Was this really for the best?" Agumon asks.

"We'll definitely go back home one day," Taichi replies, "after we've done what we're meant to do."

Taichi thinks back on everything he'd seen. Digimon were appearing in the real world. There was also that fight with Ogremon right before the portal opened. Taichi wonders why else but he could see them. Then again, Hikari also mentioned that she was able to see them too. What could that mean? Taichi shakes his head and begins to walk forward, followed closely by Agumon.

As they walk, Taichi ponders the purpose he and the others are left to fulfill. Leomon told him and the others that the Chosen Children had a purpose to fulfill here. He had gotten his Crest to activate and summarily destroyed Etemon. So, what now? Who or what was next in line? More presently, however, Taichi is concerned about the whereabouts of his friends. Is he simply to wander the desert aimlessly until he finds them? Taichi stops for a moment and looks at Agumon curiously, remembering how the reptile scouted out the Koromon village near the shore.

"Agumon," Taichi asks him.

"What is it Taichi?"

"Do you...smell anything nearby?"

Agumon perks up his nose, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. He walks around a bit, continually testing the particles about them.

"Anything?" Taichi asks after a few moments. Agumon shakes his head after a while.

"Nope. Sorry, but I don't—"

All of a sudden, Agumon's nostrils flare. He's caught onto something!

"What?" Taichi asks.

"I'm not sure," Agumon says, "But it's… _something_ …"

Then, Agumon takes off with Taichi following close behind him. The two of them travel across the desert for a time until they arrive at what appears to be a massive sinkhole. The surrounding sand has caved in about it like the center of an hourglass. Tentatively, Taichi approaches the edge of the hole and peers into it.

"Any idea what this is, Agumon?" Taichi asks.

"I think…" Agumon says, "…I think this is where I blasted Etemon."

"Oh?" Taichi says, peering about the crater. "Then this must be where the pyramid was!"

Indeed, the size of the crater seems to Taichi to be about as large as the pyramid had been. Taichi then congratulates his partner, giving Agumon a high five—or, perhaps a "three" given the number of fingers on Agumon's claws.

"Still, we don't know where the others went." Taichi remarks, his face becoming more serious.

"Maybe there are some tracks nearby?" Agumon suggests.

"They'd have disappeared," Taichi tells him, "Remember, time moves far more slowly in the Digital World."

"Oh yeah," Agumon says, bashfully.

No doubt the others are far away. There's no way they would have spent months sitting in the desert waiting for him.

"The others are probably long gone, Agumon," Taichi tells his partner. "Let's go-"

Taichi is interrupted by a large tremor and the sounds of copious amounts of moving sand.

"W-What's going on?!" Taichi says, trying to keep his balance.

"Look!" Agumon shouts, pointing into the crater. Taichi looks. Somewhat off the center of the crater, an object is rising from the sand, although hat it is cannot not be determined. Taichi and Agumon are made to watch in anticipation as the ground beneath them continues to rumble. Then, something appears: a giant reptilian head rises from the sand followed by its neck, its shoulders, and finally its arms. Sand is thrown in every direction, even as far as Taichi and Agumon. The par of them brushing themselves off before taking a good look upon this risen creature-a red dinosaur, with green stripes about its back.

"Tyranomon!" Agumon says.

He is, of course, correct. The upper half of a Tyranomon can be seen protruding from within the sandy pit. The Digimon has sickly look about it and several cables wrapped about it and a few others directly attached to various parts of its body.

"It's one of Etemon's guys," Agumon growls.

"Yeah," replies Taichi, "Somehow…he must have survived."

The pair watch the Tyranomon intensely as the Digimon struggles to free itself from the sand. Unfortunately, to no avail, the poor Digimon is thoroughly trapped.

"I think he's stuck," Agumon says. "Maybe we should just leave him behind."

Taichi nods, but nonetheless holds his ground, watching the poor creature as it struggles amidst the sand.

Then, Taichi shouts: "Hey! Tyranomon!"

The Tyranomon ceases its struggling for a moment and looks up at Taichi and Agumon. Having become familiar with Agumon's features, Taichi recognizes the helpless look on Tyranomon's reptilian face. Weakly, the Tyranomon opens its mouth, as if to speak, but the only sound its wheezing breath.

"He needs our help," Taichi says.

"Are you sure?" Agumon asks. "What about the cables? He's one of Etemon's."

"I know," Taichi says, "But we destroyed Etemon, so…"

Tyranomon's pleading look doesn't falter and Taichi can only return that gaze for so long. Then, knowing what he must do, Taichi takes action.

"Agumon," he says, grasping his Digivice, "evolve."

At once, Agumon nods and a bright light surrounds him, increasing in size and assuming a much larger shape. The next moment, Greymon is standing in front of Taichi.

"What now?" Greymon asks.

Lifting himself upon his Greymon's shoulder, Taichi points in the Tyranomon's direction:

"Do you think you can reach him, Greymon?"

Greymon grunts in response. Then, with mild trepidation, begins to ascend down the sloping sand. At first, all seems well, the sand shifts slightly but barely under Greymon's weight. Yet as the pair draw closer to center, the shifting increases, burying Greymon's feet below the ankles. Taichi wavers for a moment, and Greymon brings his claw up to steady his balance.

"Taichi! You should get to safety!" says Greymon.

"Idiot!" Taichi says, leveling face with Greymon's eye. "I'm not letting you do this alone. Now keep moving!"

Greymon growls in confirm and continues making his way towards the lone Tyranomon. Taichi tightens his grip on Greymon as best he can. Even as Greymon closes the distance between them, the entire crater begins to shift about him, the sand pooling towards the center, threatening to overwhelm the Tyranomon.

"Quickly, Greymon!" Taichi yells. Then, Greymon is upon Tyranomon, managing to grab hold of it before the sand causes it to become submerged again. Grasping the sinking Digimon underneath its arms, Greymon pulls with all his might. For a moment, it seems to be working: the Tyranomon is lifted from its entrap in small measure. However, the surrounding sand continues to whirl about them, causing Greymon to sink once again. The sand threatens to swallow all of them, even as Greymon attempts to keep Tyranomon afloat with all his might. Taichi cries out in vain as the sand builds up about them; before long all three of them become buried bneath the sand.

But there, Taichi's Digivce vibrates wildly and another bright light surrounds Greymon. Next, the sand about them gives way and suddenly bursts as MetalGreymon rockets skyward. Safe carried within the palm of MetalGreymon's right-hand claw, Taichi cheers. Meanwhile, MetalGreymon's cybernetic claw has entangled itself about the cables attached to the fallen Tyranomon, ripping it free from the confines of the sand trap. They're safe!

"Well done, MetalGreymon!" Taichi shouts up to his partner. MetalGreymon smiles in appreciation.

Soon, the Tyranomon is upon level sand, far from the crater. MetalGreymon lands and Taichi hops down to ground. Flanked by his Digimon partner, Taichi anxiously approaches the Tyranomon, noting how emaciated its scaly flesh is. With great effort the Tyranomon lifts its head to look at Taichi and MetalGreymon.

"Ch-Chosen…?" the Tyranomon begins, but its voice is cut off by a wheezy cough as an inky black liquid leaks from its mouth. MetalGreymon scans the severed cables injected into Tyranomon's backside, noticing the same substance leaking from them.

"Taichi," MetalGreymon says. "He doesn't have long to live. I think the cables were keeping him alive."

"What?" asks Taichi. "How do you know that?"

" _This_ isn't just for show," MetalGreymon explains, tapping the cybernetic plating about his head.

Taichi's nods and turns back to the dying reptile. "Don't worry, Tyranomon," he says. "We…we'll find some way to save you!"

"…Too…late…" the Tyranomon begins to say, but is cut off by more coughing.

The surrounding cables sputter and spill as Tyranomon's life ebbs away.

"Tyranomon…" Taichi says, pleadingly. But he knows there's no way he'd be able to get help before Tyranomon life gave out.

"Th-thank…you…" the Tyranomon says. Then, with great effort, the dying Digimon lifts its head ever-so-slightly, causing Taichi to take a step back. Then, turning it in a particular direction, Tyranomon collapses once again. "Th-there…" It manages to reply, before falling silent and closing its eyes.

"What?" Taichi remarks looking in that direction. "Are you saying that's where we should go?"

The Tyranomon doesn't answer. Breathing its last, the beast falls into a heap, its body disintegrating into a mass of particles as it dies.

"Tyranomon!" Taichi walks into the indentation within the bed of sand where the fallen creature once was, falling to his knees in anguish. He picks up a handful of sand where Tyranomon once was, squeezing it until the particles sift between the gaps of his fingers.

"Taichi…" comes a small voice says from behind him. Taichi turns to see a familiar pink creature shaped like a ball.

"Koromon?" says Taichi, taking the baby Digimon in his arms. He'd been so caught up in that moment, he hadn't even seen that MetalGreymon's energy had run out.

"Taichi…" Koromon pleads, "Let's go."

"Right," Taichi replies, wiping his face. "Time to go."

On and on Taichi goes, the sun continually beating down upon him and Koromon. He wishes he had brought a hat with him before he'd been pulled back into the Digital World, in addition to a bottle water, some sunscreen and maybe some sandals. He feels the sand slowly filling his shoes as he walked, but that's nothing compared to how thirsty he is. The heat is becoming more and more unbearable, rising even hotter than he remembers it had been when he and the others were on the run from Etemon. Taichi wonders how long he'd been walking for.

Taichi stops for a moment and looks ahead. Then, he looks back at his tracks.

"Koromon?" he asks, his voice becoming raspy.

"Yes?" the little Digimon replies. His voice is also very hoarse.

"Do you think we strayed too far from the path?'

"How should I know?" Koromon asks.

Taichi notes the location of the sun as best he can. Even though he's without a watch, one can usually get a feel for the time of day based on where the sun was. This was odd and it seemed to Taichi that the sun was hanging in place for peculiarly long period. What exactly did that mean? Nonetheless he keeps moving as best he can, spiting the heat. All the while, Taichi checks at Koromon every few minutes. Koromon's once-pink body has become as pale as a ghost. Taichi even notes his own dehydration; his shirt is crusted with dried perspiration.

"T-Taichi…" Koromon manages to say, right before he passes out.

"Koromom?" Taichi asks, shaking his friend, "Koromon?!"

Koromon doesn't stir. Gritting his teeth, Taichi presses forward.

The day goes on, but Taichi's journey doesn't get any easier. He sees the sun has finally begun to set. Why did that seem to take such a long time? The entire day's walking has taken its toll on Taichi; he's parched and heavily fatigued. Looking back at his tracks, he wonders again if he fell from the path. He yearns to have Koushiro at his side, figuring out where to go with his computer. Taichi's body aches to drop, but he looks at Koromon in dismay, wondering if his little partner would last through the night.

 _The night…?_

Taichi peers at the sun again—an dimly-lit orange ball peaking halfway above the horizon. But…how long it had been sitting there? Again, Taichi wished he had some way of keeping track of the time. He stares at sun for a while and even starts to count the seconds. Before long, he figures it out: The sun really had stopped moving! But how? And Why?

Delirious, Taichi very nearly collapses right then and there, but strives to keep himself awake. He imagines that if he had collapsed in the desert, that, somehow there would at least be the hope that someone—human or Digimon, would find him and Koromon. However, just then, a heavy wind picks up and the sand pelts his face furiously. The surprise and pain stirs him fully awake once more, kick-starting whatever adrenaline he had left within his system. Taking off through the sandstorm, he desperately looks this way and that for any signs of shelter. Sadly, he sees nothing, blinded by whipping sand. If he hadn't strayed from the path earlier, Taichi thinks he's surely off course by now.

Just as Taichi feels as if his legs wouldn't carry him anymore, his feet hit a very hard metal surface. The next thing he knows, he has stumbled across a long ramp sloping downwards. He trips, falling forwards and eventually hitting his back against a flat surface. He gasps, having had the wind out of him. Luckily, Koromon is still there, having been cradled like a football during the fall. Getting up, Taichi looks up to see that he had run into a giant pair of steel doors withthe number 009 is painted on them. Taichi can only guess that this is some kind of undergound bunker. Thanking his lucky stars, he pounds on doors with all his might.

"Open up!" He yells. "We need help! Open up!"

Taichi waits, but there's no response; the doors remain shut. Looking around, he sees no handle, no knob, and no apparent method of getting the doors open. Unwilling to give up, Taichi continues pounding and yelling until his voice gives out complete. Still, there is no answer. As the final reserves of his strength fade, Taichi resigns himself to sitting with his back against crease between the two doors, huddling down as the wind continues to whirl about them. He looks at the poor Digimon, its mouth hanging open and barely breathing.

"I'm sorry, Koromon…" He says, making every effort to keep his eyes open. Moments pass and begins to fade, along with Taichi's consciousness. However, he feels a rumble! Suddenly, the doors behind vibrate and open, causing him to fall backwards. Try as he might, he can't lift his body from the ground, having completely succumbed to exhaustion. As his vision fades, he barely perceives two figures coming towards him from within the bunker, silhouetted by bright light.

"It _was_ a human child! Just like I said," says one.

"Okay, bring them in, quickly! I'll get some water!" says the other.

Taichi can't help but wonder at the second voice of his two saviors. The first voice he didn't recognize at all, but the second voice was all too familiar to him.

"S-Sora…?" Taichi manages to say.

Taichi feels two furry paws lift him from the ground and then pair of hands slip Koromon out from under his arms.

"Do you know this guy?" the first voice asks. "He said your name."

"I…I'm not sure," answers the second voice. "But let's worry about that later, okay?"

"Roger that," the first voice replies.

That beat of hesitation from the first voice made Taichi's heart feel like it could have exploded. It i _s_ Sora! Taichi is sure of it! Desperately he wants to shout out to her and tell her about all that had happened to him. Unfortunately, he drifts into fully into unconsciousness.


	2. Branching Pain

"Taichi!" Sora yells. But it's no use; Taichi had vanished along with MetalGreymon. The pair had bravely stood against the storm of Etemon's Dark Network, blasting the evil Digimon into oblivion. However, they had summarily been caught up in the resulting explosion. Although the sky was clear and the sand had settled, the victory the children had obtained that day was hollow-for they had been left without their leader.

"Wh-what happened to them?" Jyou asks.

"The explosion…" Koushiro says. "It must have—"

"No!" Sora shouts, unwilling to believe it. She bolts off in the direction Taichi had marched, calling out his name. The others watch helplessly as she does so and Takeru begins to cry, covering his face with his hands.

"He's gone!" says Takeru. "Taichi is gone!"

Yamato lays his hand on his brother's shoulder while Mimi bows her head, hiding her face beneath the brim of her hat. Her body trembles with sadness. They're all in shock. After running about fruitlessly for a time, Sora falls to her knees in futility and allows tears to flow freely from her eyes.

"Taichi…" she whispers mournfully.

"M-Maybe he's not dead!" Jyou says suddenly, breaking a long moment of silence. "Maybe he just went…somewhere else…."

"Jyou…" says Yamato, trying to hush him; but Jyou keeps on talking.

"He probably just got sent somewhere else, right? Maybe he's not—"

"Jyou!" Yamato shouts.

In spite of Yamato's protesting, Takeru stops crying and looks at Jyou with hopeful gleam in his eyes.

"D-do you think so?" He asks.

Not just Takeru, but Mimi wipes the tears from her eyes, replacing her downcast fast with a bright look of optimism.

"He might be right!" She says. "Taichi might still be somewhere out in the desert." She then turns to Koushiro and asks him, "Is that even possible?"

"Hmm..?" Koushiro ceases his own melancholy to consider. "Well, I don't—" he begins.

"No!" Yamato says, interrupting him. The rest of them turns their heads toward Yamato, baffled by his defiance. Nevertheless, Yamato crosses his arms and proceeds to lay things out:

"Look," he says, "We can't give in to false hope. Blindly looking around the desert, hoping that Taichi might be out there, won't do us any good. After all, you all _saw_ what happened, right?" For Yamato, it seems prudent to assume Taichi is dead. Nevertheless, he finds it difficult to ignore the pained looks of the others around him. "Taichi is…gone." He tries his best to avoid the word "dead", yet saying "gone" doesn't seem to help much either. "I know it's hard, but we need to accept it. We shouldn't—"

"Shouldn't what?!" says Sora, harshly interrupting him. She has rejoined the group, her frowning face streaked with her tears. "Are you saying we're just going to abandon him out here?!"

Sighing, Yamato chooses his next works as carefully as he can: "We can't just wander about the desert aimlessly hoping that Taichi isn't…gone. Nobody could have survived that explosion. We should prioritize finding our way home." Sora continues to glare at him and she clenches her fists. Nevertheless, Yamato continues: "Moreover, we still need to find out how to activate our Crests. If there are more Digimon out there like Etemon, we need to ready our Digimon to face them—"

"Idiot!" Sora shouts, not at all taken with Yamato pronouncement of Taichi's fate. Yamato gulps nervously, stunned at how quickly her anger rose against him. "You're so willing to abandon Taichi," Sora yells, "but you never liked him anyway! You _want_ him to be dead. Well, you'll _never_ replace him. _Never_!"

Yamato opens his mouth bu stops himself short from saying anything. He is far too taken aback to say anything right now. In the past, arguing with Taichi seemed like it was such an easy thing for him to do. Why then does it feel so much more difficult when it involves Sora?

"Sora…" Jyou says, trying to calm her down.

However, Sora isn't done: "What about Takeru?" she demands, motioning to Yamato's younger brother. "What if it had been him instead of Taichi, huh? Would you abandon _him_?"

Yamato's shock instantly dissipates at the mention of his younger brother. Now his blood begins to boil.

"That's not fair!" He shouts back at her, clenching his own fists. Sora only continues to stab him with her eyes. For a moment, Yamato thinks she might lunge at him and so braces himself.

"Sora, please…" Piyomon says, tugging at Sora's leg. "Stop this! This…this isn't like you."

Sora gasps and looses up a bit. She looks at Piyomon and kneels down, pleading with her partner desperatly:

"No, _you_ listen," she says. "Taichi risked his life to save us—both of us. We _can't_ just abandon him. Not after all he's done for us—for _all of us_." Sora turns gives everyone else an earnest look. "You all saw it, right? His Crest glowed! Greymon evolved! Don't you see? We need Taichi more than ever right now…" Sora's voice falters as she begins to tear up again. She then hugs Piyomon, hiding her face in her partner's feathers. Graciously, Piyomon returns the embrace and even Mimi joins in to comfort Sora.

Cooling his anger, Yamato wonders if he was wrong. Could Taichi have really survived that explosion?

"Big brother," Takeru says, tugging at Yamato's shirt. "Are we really going to abandon Taichi?"

"I…" Yamato replies, nervously. His mind races for an answer, mostly preceded by the question _What would Taichi do?_ But often proceeded by the answer _Why am I even asking myself what Taichi would do?_ Yamato doesn't answer, but thinks long and hard about their current situation.

"Big brother…?" Takeru says again.

Yamato turns to Koushiro: "Koushiro!" All eyes are on Yamato once more, including Sora's. Yamato digs his hands inside his pockets grips his harmonica tightly, longing to put some space between himself and everyone else. All he wants to do right now is be alone and play some tunes. But he cannot; everyone is relying on him right now to do what must be done.

"Yeah?" Koushiro says, awkwardly, not at all used to Yamato putting him on the spot. Yamato approaches him and places his hands on his shoulders in patronizing fashion. As he does so, he remembers Taichi had done the same thing to him back on File Island.

"Can you find Taichi?" Yamato asks. He cringes slightly as he makes the suggestion, but it's the only option that comes to mind at this point in time.

"M-me?" Koushiro replies with a look of confused. "But how am I—"

"With your computer," Yamato urges.

"Oh! Well…uh…" Koushiro thinks about it. "I suppose…it…might be possible?"

"Okay, then," Yamato says, seemingly satisfied. He then address the rest of the group, feeling their eyes of anticipation. The blood begins to drain from Yamato's face as he struggles for the right words to say.

"Listen, guys," He says, scratching the back of his head nervously. "We're going to find somewhere Koushiro can connect to the network again—"

"Where?" Mimi asks. "The sphinx was destroyed and we have no way back—"

" _I know_." Yamato says, annoyedly. "We'll just have to find _somewhere else_ that Koushiro can connect to. Like I said before: It'll do us no good to wander about the desert aimlessly trying to find him. Especially if he's…gone." All but Sora all voice their approval. However, Yamato lifts a finger and follows up with, "If Koushiro isn't able to find Taichi, then…we _move on_. Are we clear on that?" Hesitantly, the rest of them nod in affirmation-all except Sora again. Sora's attention drifts back out towards the empty desert.

"Sora?" Yamato asks her.

Sora nods, but refuses to look at him.

...

So it is that the six children and their Digimon partners set off, making their way across the desert in the direction of some forest land nearby. Still using the map that had been provided to him back on File Island, Koushiro suggests they take refuge amidst the trees before deciding where to go next. To get there even faster, Tentomon and Piyomon evolve and take flight, carrying the others on their backs. The flight lasts for a couple of hours before the yellow turns to brown and brown into green. Soon, grassy plains and forest lands come into view. In the far-off distance, a range of jagged mountains can also be seen. The children look around for any signs of water.

"Look! There's a lake!" Yamato shouts over the winding hum of Kabuterimon's wings. The others look in the direction he's pointing and, sure enough, a large body of water nestled within trees. Kabuterimon and Birdramon zone in and eventually land at the edge of the lake before reverting back to their child forms. Mimi then gives them some provision from her tote bag so that they can recover their energy.

The children then go about a routine that they'd kept in practice ever since their first night in the Digital World. However, this time they are without Taichi, and they all can feel his absence. Not many words are said among the children as they set up camp and make meal preparations. Mimi and Takeru volunteer to head out with Palmon and Tentomon and forage for fruits and vegetables while Jyou and Sora go look for firewood, followed closely by Piyomon and Gabumon. Koushiro goes fishing, aided by Gomamon who's taken to swimming about in the lake and herding the fish to Koushiro's pole.

"Just be sure you don't hook me!" Gomamon tells Koushiro with a wink.

"I'll be careful," Koushiro assures him. As he fishes, Yamato approaches him and sits beside him. "What is it?" Koushiro asks. He's surprised to see that Yamato is holding his laptop computer. Tentatively, Yamato opens the laptop.

"Koushiro, can you…can you show me how to use this?" Yamato asks him. Koushiro reacts in surprise.

"Use it?" he asks. Yamato nods and explains:

"I mean, I know how to use my dad's computer back at home, right? But…I never learned how to type and…well, I don't know a thing about all those markings you were messing with on the walls and…"

"I see," Koushiro says. "Sure, I can try to teach you. But, why all of a sudden are you interested in this?"

"Well…" Yamato says, taking a deep breath. "I guess because…Taichi's gone now and so everyone is scared…"

"Even you?" Koushiro asks. Yamato doesn't answer his question, yet continues speaking:

"Everyone is looking to me for guidance, right? But I'm…I'm just not ready for this." His voice trembles. "Anyways, you said this world was in a computer, right?"

"Yeah, something like that. The Digital World is actually far more complicated, but you've the basic idea."

"I want _more_ than the basic idea. I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with. If everyone is going to rely on me, then I should know what to do."

"Okay, then, here," Koushiro sets his pole aside and begins to adjust Yamato's hand placement on the keyboard. "You put your hands here, with your fingers on—"

"Hey! What gives?!" Gomamon shouts, coming up for air.

"Sorry, Gomamon," says Koushiro. Looking at his fallen pole. "But, I need to help Yamato with this. But you should manage fine without me." Koushiro then continues helping Yamato.

"Huh?" Gomamon says, cocking his head to the side. The two children, now thoroughly preoccupied, pay him little attention. Shrugging, Gomamon dives back into the water.

In the meantime, Jyou and Sora have made quite a collection, each eagerly carrying a large bundle of sticks back to camp. Yet, all the while, the four of them don't say a word to each other. Gabumon glances at Sora worriedly every now and then and, eventually, Sora takes notice.

"Gabumon?" She asks. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" she asks.

"Oh…I…" Gabumon stutters. "I'm sorry."

"Gabumon…" Sora says, noting his downcast face. Her heart goes out to him. "You're…you're a good friend, Gabumon." Sora tells him. "…and….Yamato is lucky to have you as a friend too."

Gabumon lifts his head suddenly, surprised at the compliment. His footing stumbles a bit, almost causing him to drop his sticks. As he regains his composure. Sora can't help but giggle at his bashful behavior.

"S-Sora," Gabumon says, still a bit nervous. "May I ask you a question?"

"You don't have to be so formal about it," she tells him. "Ask away."

"O-Okay, then…" Gabumon swallows hard. "I…uh…that is…"

"You want to know why I treated Yamato the way I did back there, right?" Gabumon grunts in affirmation. Sora looks away from him, pondering, but soon shakes her head in dismay. "I don't think I can give you a good answer, Gabumon."

"Oh…" Gabumon replies, and his face becomes downcast again.

"It's just that…" Sora continues. "Yamato needs to know…he can never replace Taichi…"

Gabumon grunts again and they continue on. Noting the recent conversaion between those two, Piyomon perks up and starts running alongside Jyou.

"Jyou… _Jyou_ …" She says, her voice rising in intonation each time she says his name.

"Eh?" Jyou replies. "What's up with saying my name like that?"

"Well, Sora was talking with Gabumon." Piyomon says. "And I just thinking; I've never really talked with _you_ … _Jyou_. So, I wanted to say, hello… _Jyou_. Would you like to be my friend… _Jyou_?"

"Stop doing that," Jyou says in annoyance. "Why do you have to say my name so many times?"

"Hmm?" Piyomon asks, her face marked with genuine confusion. "Do you not like your name… _Jyou_? It _is_ very easy to say… _Jyou_ …"

"It's not _that_ ," Jyou says. "But why do you say it…like _that_?"

"Oh, Sora asked me that once," Piyomon explains. "She says I'm like a—" she turns to Sora, "—what did you call it?"

"A mockingbird." Sora replies.

"Yes, a mockingbird!" Piyomon says joyfully and then continues chanting Jyou's name. Jyou sighs in derision.

"Well you got the 'mocking' part right…" he grumbles.

As for Mimi, Takeru, Palmon, and Tokomon they're stocking Mimi's tote bag with food from the local plantlife.

"How do you know so much about the plants here, Mimi?" Takeru asks.

"Palmon showed me," Mimi replies, winking at Palmon. Palmon's turns away bashfully, her green cheecks turning a shade of purple. Before long, Takeru happens upon a large brown mushroom growing from the base of a tree. He points to it and motions to Palmon.

"Is that one okay to eat?" he asks. Palmon comes up beside him.

"Oh, yes," Palmon replies. "Those are very delicious!" And so, Takeru picks it and takes a big bite out of it.

"Mmm! These _are_ delicious!" He remarks. "It tastes like chocolate!" He then takes a piece and offers it to Tokomon whose eyes light up as he chews on it.

"Wow! You're right!" He says. "So sweet!"

"Justy be careful you don't eat too many," Palmon warns. Takeru looks at her worriedly; but Palmon giggles and says, "If you eat too many of those, you'll become extremely gassy! Even Numemon will try to avoid you!" The four of them share a laugh together.

From a distant perch, Tentomon hears them laughing. "What are they laughing about down there?" He wonders aloud as he feasts upon a bundle of hanging bananas. He is just about to peel another when a speeding rock strikes the stem of the hanging fruit, causing the entire bundle to drop to the ground below!

"Wha—!" Tentomon cries out, jumping back. Warily, he looks this way and that and spots his adversary: a small green-furred monkey, wearing a toga and wielding a huge slingshot-about the size of its own body.

"Koemon!" Tentomon says. Not just one, but a dozen Koemon pop out of the trees, each one readying more stones.

Tentomon flees and eventually finds Mimi, Takeru, Palmon and Tokomon.

"Run!" Tentomon shouts, "We're under attack!"

As soon as he says it, rocks come hailing in, pelting the ground and the nearby foliage with incredible force. Quickly, Mimi takes up her tote bag and her recent haul while Takeru picks up Tokomon. Grabbing Takeru the hand, Mimi makes run for it back to camp with Tentomon and Palmon following close behind.

"Can't we just get a single moment's peace?!" Mimi moans.

Just then, a speeding bullet impacts her tote bag with great force. Although uninjured, the shock causes Mimi to scream in terror.

Some distance away, the rest of the children react as they hear Mimi's screams. Dropping their sticks, Sora, Jyou, Gabumon, and Piyomon run towards the direction of Mimi's voice. Additionally, Yamato, Koushiro, and Gomamon take off. Soon, they all meet up with each other, finding Mimi and Takeru have taken refuge behind a fallen tree. In tears, Mimi holds the torn remains of her tote bag, now empty-its contents spilled across the forest floor.

"My bag…" she says in dismay. "…and all the food…"

"Please, don't cry, Mimi." Takeru says, trying to comfort her.

"What happened?" Yamato asks.

"It's Koemon!" Tentomon reports. "This must be their territory!"

"Koemon?" asks Koushiro.

"Indeed," says Tentomon. "They're a bunch of monkeys wielding slingshots! A bunch of troublemakers, it seems."

The Koemon soon catch up to the group and begin assaulting them with a volley of stones. However, this time, the partner Digimon retaliate, answering stone with fire, electricity, vines, and—of course—a barrage of "Marching Fishes." As the fight continues, A stray bullet comes very close to hitting Takeru.

"Takeru, look out!" Tokomon shots, leaping from Takeru's arms.

"Tokomon, no!" yells Takeru as Tokomon bravely takes the full force of the bullet. Takeru picks up his fallen partner, caressing the bruise; yet he sees the little Digimon is still breathing, apparently having been knocked out cold.

The Koemon prepare another volley and Yamato jumps to Takeru, covering him, attempting to shield his brother and Tokomon from the onslaught.

"Gabumon!" Yamato calls to his partner. Nodding in understanding, Gabumon evolves into Garurumon and proceeds to catch the next volley. The bullets glance off Garurumon harmlessly. Following Gabumon's evolution, Piyomon, Tentomon, Palmon, and Gomamon also evolve and all the adult Digimon fend off the Koemon.

"It's working! They're retreating!" Jyou shouts in triumph. Indeed the Koemon _are_ retreating, hooping and hollering as they do so. Yet, as they fall back, the silhouette of a much larger figure emerges from amidst the trees. As it comes into to view, the children behold an ape-like Digimon covered in jagged, golden fur. It readies a large bone to be used as a weapon.

"What is _that_?" Koushiro asks.

"I can't be too sure," Kabuterimon replies. "But I think that's…Hanumon; he's a legendary ape."

"Legendary?" asks Mimi. "Why is he legendary?"

"Well, nobody's even sure he exists." Kabuterimon replies.

"Well…I guess we know now?" says Jyou nervously.

"Yes, it would seem that way—GAHH!" In a flash, Hanumon is upon Kabuterimon, striking his head with his club, causing the giant insect to fall backwards, stunned. The rest of the partner Digimon retaliate, but Hanumon proves too agile. He maneuvers about Garurumon and Birdramon's fire while Togemon's needles and Ikkakumon's missiles bounce harmlessly off his golden fur. Togemon then engages in close-quarters combat, throwing a series of punches. Deftly, Hanumon dodges every punch and counters with his own fists.

"Maen Moubakuken!" He shouts, throwing a series of flaming punches at Togemon and knocking her from the fight. The strike causes her to revert back to Palmon. Garurumon, Birdramon and Ikkakumon close in, but Hanumon is ready for them as well. He then shouts, "Dohatsuten!" and a barrage of needle-like hairs fire from his back at the three of them, impaling Birdramon and Ikkakumon. Dispatched, they too revert back to their child forms, leaving Garurumon standing alone—his mithril fur having protected him from the spines.

The two Digimon then square off, each one attacking and lunging at the other in equal measure, but neither one making any ground on the other. Everyone watches in anticipation, breath held, including the Koemon who have stopped their assault to watch from the branches above. Eventually, Garurumon gets a strike it, scratching Hanumon's chest with his claws and leaving a flesh wound. Hanumon barely managed to evade the attack. The ape studies his wound for a moment and then looks back to Garurumon.

"You have impressive skill," Hanumon compliments him. Garurumon says nothing, but merely growls in return. Yet, as the fight continues, manages to get a hit in and strikes Garurumon's side with his club and causing the great wolf to stagger and fall back, injured.

"Garurumon!" Yamato criest out. Hanumon beats his chest and closes in, but to his surprised, Yamato has rushed into the fight and now standing between him and Garurumon.

"Yamato, what are you—?" Garurumon begins to say.

"We're in this together, Garurumon," says Yamato. Then, whispering to himself, he says, "Just like Taichi and Greymon." He looks toward Sora who is attending the recently fallen Piyomon. Sora looks back at him, her faced marked with fear and dismay.

"Step aside, little one!" Hanumon demands. "You cannot hope to prevail against me!" But, Yamato stands his ground. Garurumon lifts himself up, groaning under the pain of the recent blow. Yet, he comes to Yamato's side, baring his teeth and snarling at Hanumon. A blue light now surrounds Garurumon and it emanates from Yamato. Hanumon is taken back in surprise and he lifts his arm up to shade his eyes. "What—?!" he shouts.

"We're stronger than you think!" says Yamato. Before Hanumon can do anything else, four arms grab from behind, locking him in place with vice-like pressure. Kabuterimon, having recovered from the recent blow, has now taken hold of Hanumon and that same blue glow surrounding Yamato and Garurumon has extended to Kabuterimon, strengthening him.

"Well, it looks like I got the drop on _you_ , this time!" Kabuterimon says to Hanumon. Seizing this chance, Garurumon leaps in and blasts the ape with fire, causing Hanumon to roar in pain and drop his club. Garurumon then takes the fallen weapon into his jaws and *SNAP* chomps it in half. "Well done!" Says Kabuterimon. "Now, shall we finish him off?" Snarling, Garurumon readies his fiery breath once again. However, Yamato speaks up:

"Wait! Garurumon!" He says. And so Garurumon stops and looks at Yamato expectantly. Lifting himself upon Garurumon's back, Yamato gets at eye level with his adversary and addresses him.

"Hanumon," Yamato says, getting close enough address the golden-haired ape properly. Aside from being surrounded by that blue glow, Yamato's forwardness causes Hanumon to look upon him with a sense of wonder. Yet, Yamato hesitates, wondering what he should say; once again not at all being used to taking charge in situations like these. The sweat builds up about his brow as Yamato looks around and notes all eyes are on him yet again. Suddenly, he blurts out, "Hanumon, why did you attack us?"

Hanumon cocks his head to the side at Yamato's odd behavior. Nevertheless, he answers: "I was protecting the Koemon. They…they're my little brothers. I promised to defend them from anyone who would do them harm." As he speaks, he winces in pain and shifts his body around uncomfortably. Nonetheles, Kabuterimon maintains his grip.

"You were…protecting them?" Yamato asks incredulously, and looks at Mimi.

"But they attacked us first!" Mimi protests. "We were just looking for some food and they jumped us!" At Mimi's words, Hanumon's eyes go wide. He looks about the trees scornfully.

"Is this true?!" He demands.

A chatter can be heard throughout the trees as the Koemon talk amongst themselves. One of the Koemon leaps down and points at Kabuterimon.

"Thief!" it yells, holding up a single banana peel.

"Huh?" Kabuterimon asks in surprise.

"Are you serious?!" Hanumon shouts, causing the lone Koemon to jump back in fear. "You went to war with these strangers over… _a few bananas_?!" The lone Koemon doesn't say anything, but hangs its head in shame and retreats back into the trees. There's an awkward moment of silence before Hanumon speaks again. Contritely, he apologizes: "Please, strangers; forgive my behavior." Then, glareing at the surrounding Koemon who all shrink back in fear, he adds, "…and please forgive the…manner in which my younger brothers have treated you."

Yamato breathes a sigh of relief and soon the blue light that had been surrounding him fades. Garurumon nods at Kabuterimon who then releases the his grip Hanumon. However, Hanumon falls to the ground in a heap, still badly injured.

"Oops, sorry about that." Kabuterimon says, lifting him again and gently setting him against a nearby tree. The other children readily approach Hanumon now and Mimi digs through Jyou's supply bag for a first aid kit.

"So, you're not an evil Digimon after all?" Sora asks.

"Evil?!" Hanumon says, perplexed. "No, I'm an honorable warrior who would never do harm to the innocent…" Annoyedly, he looks up at the surrounding Koemon again and adds, "…not _intentionally_ anyway." As Mimi proceeds to apply an ointment to Hanumon's burnt flesh, he looks at the children with wonder. "Who or what are you guys? You're not like any Digimon I've ever seen."

"That's because we're not Digimon," says Koushiro. "We're human children from another world."

"Human children…" says Hanumon, bewildered. Takeru continues to explain.

"Yes; at File Island, a Digimon named Leomon told us that we were brought here to save this world from evil. And so we need to fight bad guys like Devimon and Etemon." When Takeru drops Etemon's name, Hanumon's looks at him in surprise.

"Etemon?!" He exclaims.

"Yes," Yamato replies. "Do you know about him?"

"Indeed," replies Hanumon gravely. "Long ago I tried to fight him, but…" He hangs his head in shame, "…I was no match and so was forced to retreat deep into this forest along with my brethren."

"Then you'll be happy to know that he's dead now!" Jyou proudly declares. "You should have seen it! It was amazing!"

"Jyou…" Yamato says, noting Sora's look of unease. However, Jyou continue to prattle on:

"Taichi's partner, Greymon evolved into MetalGreymon and shot some missiles at him, causing him to explode and—"

"Jyou, shut up, will ya!" says Gomamon.

"Huh?" says Jyou, looking at his partner. Gomamon then motions his head towards Sora. Jyou places his hands over his mouth and says, "Oh…I'm so sorry…"

"'Sorry'?" Hanumon asks. "For what? What's wrong?" All goes quiet for a somber moment, save for the chatter amidst in the trees as the Koemon continue to talk amongst themselves. Then, Yamato then answers him:

"When Etemon died we…we lost two people. Taichi…and his partner Agumon. It was Taichi who destroyed Etemon, but when he did…well…there was an explosion and…" Yamato trails off, but Hanumon nods solemnly.

"I understand," Hanumon says. Mimi does her best to apply more ointment to Hanumon's tender flesh, but soon realizes there's nowhere near enough to cover the extent of the burns. Soon, Hanumon thanks her but waves her away, insisting that "strong warriors must be willing to bear much pain." Then, lifting himself from the ground, he peers about the branches at the surrounding Koemon. "Listen up, you little scamps!" He says, addressing them. "You will provide these children and their Digimon with food and water. Help them in any way they ask of you." The Koemon chatter increases, but Hanumon continues. "Don't you realize? These children—" he gestures towards the children, "—they conquered Etemon! Even at the cost of two of their own they defeated him! We owe them a debt of gratitude that we cannot repay—even with _a_ _thousand bananas_!" The monkey chatter increases again, turning to hooping and hollering. However, the children cannot tell if the noises are good or bad. Nevertheless, Hanumon smiles and looks at Yamato, "They're overjoyed." He tells him, "We'll get you all the food you can carry and _more_ if needs be." Yamato smiles and nods in return.

By nightfall, the children were partaking in a grand feast provided by their newfound monkey friends. The Koemon helped build a roaring bonfire and were dancing for joy as they brought bundles of fruit and vegetables from their local stock for everyone to partake in. It was plain to see that the Koemon were more than pleased to be providing for the children, especially after Hanumon's words. According to Hanumon, many Koemon had died by Etemon's hand as he found it a sport to hunt about the jungle. Yamato hadn't even begun to appreciate how profoundly the Server Continent had been affected by Etemon's removal from it. How long had Hanumon and the Koemon been made to go into hiding? How joyous it must have been to know they could now roam freely once again.

"…and it's all thanks to Taichi." Yamato thinks to himself. He then looks for Sora amidst the crowd of Koemon and spots her sitting beside the lake and looking out across shimmering water. Piyomon is nestled nearby, asleep. As much as Yamato wanted to go out and talk with her, he couldn't think of what he should say. Should he have apologized for electing not to remain in the desert and search about blindly for Taichi? But there, he remembers what she'd told him earlier—he'd never have left Takeru behind, right? As if on cue, Takeru runs up and hugs Yamato, interrupting his train of thought.

"Big Brother, you were so amazing!" He says excitedly.

"Uh…Thanks, Takeru," Yamato replies bashfully.

"And your Crest, Big Brother!" Takeru points at Yamato's chest. "Did you see it?"

Startled by this revelation, Yamato pulls his tag and Crest from his shirt, and looks at it. "No," he replies. "What happened with it?"

"Your Crest was glowing!" Takeru tells him. "And so were you! It looked so cool!"

Yamato looks at his Crest in amazement. He'd been so caught up in the fight with Hanumon that he hadn't even noticed what was going on with his Crest.

"I thought for sure Garurumon was going to evolve then," says Takeru. "But I guess he didn't need to; you stopped the fight! It was _still_ awesome, though!"

Yamato gives Takeru an appreciative smile, thanking him once again. But then, Yamato kneels down and places a hand on Takeru's shoulders, looking him square in the eye.

"Takeru," he says. "I need to know something."

"What is it?" Takeru asks.

"If…If it had been _you_ instead of Taichi. What would you want me to do?"

Takeru gasps as he realizes what's being asked of him and then, he takes a few moments to consider the question. He peers over at Tokomon. The baby Digimon, having recovered from his recent blow, is now feasting on an apple—his large teeth carving through it with ease. Takeru looks bat at Yamato, an earnest look on his face.

"When Angemon died, all I wanted was to have him come back," Takeru says. "And…he came back to me! Just like he said he would. And that makes me happy…but…"

"But…?" Yamato asks.

"It's just…it's not like it was, Big Brother," he admits. "I mean, Tokomon is the the same but he's…he's not the same..."

"Well, you've changed a lot, Takeru," Yamato suggests.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're not the little brother I once knew…and I'm not talking about before Mom and Dad…y'know. I mean ever since File Island, I notice you've been really different." With a keen look of determination, Takeru takes out his Crest and studies it.

"I wonder," he says, "if, someday, I'll glow like you and Taichi."

"For sure you will!" Yamato replies. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"Oh, yeah!" Takeru tucks his tag and Crest back into his shirt and gives his older brother his full attention. "Well, what I mean is that even though Angemon came back, like he said, he needed to grow up again…and that means I to take care of him."

"Right," says, Yamato, "that _is_ important, but what does it have to do with Taichi?"

"Don't you see?" Takeru says. "After Angemon died, I needed to be stronger than before. For him, for you and…for all of us. Y'know, just in case we need Angemon to help us again; that means I need to take good care of Tokomon, right?" Yamato looks at his younger brother in amazement as he realizes the point he's making.

"So," Yamato replies. "What you're saying is, Taichi would want us to stay strong?"

Eagerly, Takeru nods, "Yes! Like Angemon!"

"Right, like Angemon."

Taking his little brother's words to heart, Yamato looks around at all his friends. He sees Koushiro, Mimi, and Jyou, all enjoying a meal alonside their Digimon partners in addition to their new Koemon friends. He sees at Gabumon chatting with Hanumon in the distance, and notes they're bonding even after having previously been adversaries. He then peers over at Sora and Piyomon again, the former of whom is still gazing at shimmering lake in her melancholy. Finally, Yamato turns back to Takeru and extends his hand out to him.

"Okay, Takeru," he says. "Let's be strong… _together_." Takeru nods and takes Yamato outstretched hand, gripping it as firmly.

"Yes," says Takeru. "For Angemon…for Agumon…and for Taichi!"


	3. Number Nine

When Taichi wakes up, he finds himself lying in the lower rack of a bunk-bed. The bed is one many lined up sequentially within an long, rectangular room. The room itself is completely enclosed as far as he can tell, dimly lit by fluorescent lights of which only a few are active. Taichi yawns and rubs his eyes, wondering how got here. As he lifts himself from the bed, he feels a slight poking sensation in his arm. Looking at it, he sees an intravenous tube has been injected, connected to a bag of liquid hanging from a nearby pole. Instinctively, Taichi reaches out with his other arm to remove the needle, but then stops himself short as he thinks about it. There he recalls a time when Hikari had been in the hospital, hooked up to something similar during her bout with pneumonia. As his mother had explained, it was a means of delivering nutrition and antibiotics—things that were supposed to be helpful for sick people. So Taichi leaves it in his arm; for now, anyway. He then leans forward to get a better view of the room. However, as he pulls the bed sheets from his body, a cold draft tells him he's not wearing any clothes. Looking down, he confirms that he's only wearing his underwear. Where had his clothes been taken? But more importantly, where was Koromon, his Digivice, and his Crest? A quick look about the room reveals that's entirely vacant, save himself. Nobody is around to answer his questions. Moreover, there aren't even any windows to look out of, leaving Taichi feeling somewhat claustrophobic. His eyes finally fall upon a door at the end of the room. At first, the thinks he ought to make a break for it, but reconsiders, deciding instead to call out to his benefactors:

"Hello? Is anyone here? Hello?"

Nobody replies.

"Hey! Is anyone out there?!" he shouts again, a bit louder this time.

Still, nothing.

Without recourse, Taichi gets out of bed, bracing himself with the pole is arm is linked to. Thankfully, it was a mobile fixture attached to a set of wheels. Slowly, he makes his way towards the door, telling himself that Koromon _had_ to be okay. After all, they'd gone through the effort of taking care of him, right? So surely they'd have done the same for Koromon. But, then again, who were "they" to begin with? Vaguely, Taichi recalls being lifted up by some furry animal and then blacking out; but not before he'd heard the creature talking with someone whose voice sounded like Sora's. Or was that just his imagination? Soon, Taichi gets his answer.

Taichi had made it about halfway across the room when all the lights suddenly become illuminated, bathing the entire room with brightness. He squints his eyes, but he can hear the door at the end of the corridor opening up. A furry red fox-like creature rushes through it and, as Taichi's eyes adjust to the new light, he recognizes who it is! It was an Elecmon, similar to the one whom they'd met at the Village of Beginnings, but Taichi also considers this might not be same one. They looked similar enough.

"Elecmon?" Taichi asks, hoping it was the same one.

"What are you doing?!" Elecmon shouts at him. "Get back into bed!" So, It wasn't the same one. Elecmon glares at him and warns, "I won't ask a second time, kid."

"Where's Koromon?!" Taichi angrily shouts back. "And where's my stuff?!" He wasn't at all pleased with having been called a "kid" either.

" _We_ will be asking the questions around here," Elecmon replies defiantly, crossing his arms. "You're lucky we even decided to save your life. So, maybe show a little gratitude, yeah?"

"You've a serious attitude problem," Taichi say defiantly. "Now show me where Koromon is or I'll—"

"You'll what?!" Elecmon says. His tail begins to spark and he rears up to attack. Instinctively, Taichi takes a step back. " _You're_ the one with the attitude problem, kid." Elecmon tells him. "Maybe I ought to teach you a lesson."

Elecmon's tail continues to spark, and Taichi can hear the faint crackling of electricity. Taichi grasps the pole in his hand firmly, willing to use it as a weapon if need be. As he braces himself for a jolt, a voice calls out from the doorway:

"That's enough, Elecmon!"

Both Taichi and Elecmon look towards the door and see that somebody else has entered the room. Taichi's jaw drops when he sees who it is.

"Sora!?" He exclaims. Indeed, it was! Sora marches into the room, giving Elecmon a stern look. Elecmon relaxes for a moment as she enters.

"So, he _does_ know who you are," he says to her. Then, turning towards Taichi, he rears up for combat once again. "How do you know Sora, huh? Tell us now!"

"Elecmon, calm down!" Says Sora, stomping her foot. Elecmon snorts, but backs off. Even so, his threatening gaze never falters. Meanwhile, Sora draws closer and looks at Taichi intently. As she does so, Taichi sees she's carrying his clothes in her hands, neatly folded. Without saying anything else, she cautiously makes her way over to Taichi and, somewhat awkwardly, hands him his shorts. She blushing as she does so and Taichi, having forgotten he was only wearing his underpants, also blushes. Quickly, he takes his pants and hurriedly slips them on.

"They were pretty nasty," she tells him, adding "…and they smelled terrible," under her breath. "Luckily, this facility has a washroom."

Sora studies Taichi as he does up his shorts, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Do you mind?" He asks. Sora apologizes and turns her face away.

Eventually the pair take to sitting opposite each other upon two separate bunk-beds and Sora continues handing Taichi the rest of his clothes. The silence is deafening as Taichi puts on his socks and shoes and he looks at Sora anxiously as he does so.

"Sora, what's up with you?" Taichi asks.

"Huh?" Sora asks.

"Aren't you even surprised to see me? Don't you want to know what happened?"

"Well, I…" She looks at Elecmon worriedly, who shrugs at her, but continues to peer at Taichi suspiciously. Turning back to Taichi, Sora sighs and then says. "Umm… can you tell me, please…how you know my name?" Taich freezes and looks at her in disbelief.

""What are you talking about?" He asks incredulously. Elecmon interjects:

"Just answer the damn question, numbskull!" He says as his tail begins to spark up again. "How do know her name?"

"Elecmon, please," Sora says. "Just…wait outside."

"What?!" Elecmon exclaims. "And leave you alone with this guy? No way! Not a chance!"

"It'll be fine," Sora assures him. "I don't think he came here to hurt us. Anyway, he's still recovering." Elecmon continues to frown. However, when he sees the look on Sora's face, his frown is replaced with a look of genuine concern.

"Are…are you sure about this?" He asks. Sora walks over to him and holds her arms out. Much to Taichi's surprise, Elecmon hops into her outstretched arms. The two of them share a brief hug and Sora whispers, "I'll be fine. Go cool down for bit, okay?" Reluctantly, Elecmon nods and hops from Sora's arms, proceeding to make his way out of the room. Even as he does so, he continues to look at Taichi suspiciously.

"If you do anything—" He starts to say.

"Elecmon!" Sora says frustratedly. Elecmon growls and, begrudingly, leaves the room, leaving the door wide open as he does so.

When he's gone, Taichi asks Sora, "What was that all about?" And quickly, he adds, "—and where's Koromon?"

"Still recovering," Sora replies curtly, blatantly ignoring the first question. "He was actually in far worse condition than you were. But don't worry; we're taking good care of him."

"What's up with you?" Taichi asks her. "You're acting really strange. Why did you ask me how I knew your name?" Sora says nothing at first, but stares past Taichi as if deep in thought. "Sora? What are you doing? Why won't you answer me?"

"I'm…I'm not sure how…" She says, once again giving him her attention.

"What are you talking about?" Taichi replies. "Where are the others? What happened to Piyomon?" Sora doesn't answer, but soon she begins to cry, startling Taichi.

"I…I sorry." She says amidst her tears, "But I…I don't know who you're talking about. I don't even know who _you_ are."

Taichi's eyes go wide. "You…what?!" He asks in astonishment. Sora shakes her head and buries her face in her hands as she sobs, leaving Taichi unsure of what to do. He'd never seen Sora like this. "Sora?" he says. "Please, just…talk to me, okay? Did something bad happen to you?"

"I don't even know," she says. Looking up at him, she pleads, "can you…can you at least tell me _your_ name so this can be a little less awkward?"

" _My_ name?" Taichi asks, flabbergasted. "But…Sora, it's _me_! Taichi! How do you not remember me?"

"I'm sorry," Sora says again, "But I…I just don't…."

For a few minutes, Taichi stares at her in disbelief. Gently, he places his hand on her shoulder. Sora looks up at him, her eyes still wet. Taichi looks into her yes, searching for any sign of recognition. But all he sees is sadness.

"Amnesia…?" Taichi whispers to himself. Sora hears him and nods solemnly.

"That's what I was thinking too…" she says. Then, wiping her face she adds, "…Taichi, was it?" Taichi nods, but he winces at the way she says it, like he's a stranger to her. His friends—one of his most important friends—couldn't even remember who he was. This just couldn't be happening! Something else had to be at play here. Could she be an evil Digimon playing a trick on him?

"Tell me something," he says. "If you've lost your memory, then how do you even know what _your_ name is?"

Slowly, Sora removes her helmet and shows it to him, pointing to its interior. Taichi looks and sees the name "TAKENOUCHI SORA" written inside, faint but legible.

"It was one of the first places I looked," she tells him.

Still frustrated but now somewhat satisfied, Taichi nods.

Sora places her helmet to her side and combs her fingers through her hair thoughtfully. "The last thing I remember was waking up inside this place—" she motions around her. "Elecmon rescued me. He says he found me lying in the desert."

"All alone?"

"Yes. Apparently, I'd passed out—just like you had—and had almost died of thirst. But he managed to save me, just like he did for you." She points to the IV line attached to Taichi's arm. Tacihi looks at it as well.

" _He_ set this up?"

"Yes; we couldn't give you water because you were unconscious; so…we did what we had to." She smiles and adds, "Elecmon was really good about it too. I know he seems a bit rough and overprotective, but he has a good heart and he's really gentle. He's been a good friend to me over the past few months."

"Months?!" Taichi gasps.

Sora nods.

So, there was his answer. He'd spent about half a day's time back in the real world while it had been months for Sora and everyone. And in that time, all he knew that happened was that Sora had apparently gotten lost in the desert and been afflicted by amnesia. Meanwhile everyone else was still unaccounted for. Taichi slumps backwards in his bed, overtaken by this development. For a while all he can do is stair at the mattress of the overhead bunk.

"Taichi?" Sora asks. Taichi winces again and slowly gets up. He looks Sora in the eyes, once again looking for any signs of recognition. Yet again, he finds none and sighs in defeat. "Taichi, just…talk to me," Sora pleads. "Tell me about…well about how we know each other."

"How can you even be calm about this?" Taichi demands.

Sora frowns and crosses her arms defensively.

"What kind of a question is that? I freaked out plenty after I woke up here, all by myself. Can you even imagine what that was like?" Taichi looks at her apologetically, but she ignores him and continues her rant: "Unlike you, I actually pulled the needle out from my arm and ran out of the room in a panic." Pensively, she caresses the crook of her elbow. "I bled quite a bit, but I was too upset to care. Elecmon was worried half to death when it happened." She sighs deeply, trying to relax herself. "Eventually, I calmed down…It took me a couple of days to settle in, but…somehow, I learned to cope."

The two don't speak with each other for a while, the silence is taken up the faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead.

"I'm sorry," Taichi says, "I didn't mean to upset you." Then, making the moment awkward, his stomach growls in hunger. Sora, her brief melancholy now broken, actually starts laughing at him.

"How could I forget?" she says. "Wait here, Taichi. I'll be right back!" With that, she rushes towards the door; all before Taichi can say anything else. Not that he had much to say, given how dumbstruck he was. After she's gone, he leans back onto his pillow again, deep in thought. He then fiddles around with his t-shirt, the only article of clothing he hadn't been able to put on given the IV tube stuck in his arm. As he waits for Sora to return Taichi thinks long and hard about her predicament. He can't help but notice how she actually tried to force some familiarity into saying his name this time. She was definitely making a concerted effort to re-establish herself, but how long it would be before she would be speaking to him as a proper friend again? They couldn't just re-experience everything they'd gone through in the past, like how they used to play soccer together. Taichi wonder, Would she also have to relearn how to play soccer? Moreover, were they ever to get home, how would Sora reintegrate herself? But there, Taichi considers that they'd probably have a world of a time trying to explain the Digital World to everyone back at home anyway.

After a time, Sora returns, flanked by Elecmon who looks as grumpy as ever. Taichi imagines Sora shared some brief words with him beforehand. This time around, Sora is carrying an aluminum container and trails of steam rise from it. As she draws closer, the distinct smell of curry reaches Taichi's nose and his stomach rumbles once again.

"Taichi, this facility is stocked with ramen," Sora explains. Again, Taichi notes the strangeness by which she says his name. It also seemed to him that she was trying to get used to saying it aloud. She continues: "It's all dry and prepackaged, of course, but there's running water and a microwave here as well."

Eagerly, she sits beside Taichi and hands him the aluminum container.

"Thanks!" Taichi says, eagerly taking it from her. She smiles, but warns him about how hot the food is. Regardless, Taichi peels the foil lid from the container, allowing a steady stream of heat to rise from it and reach his nostrils. He's just about to start in on the food, when he kinks his shoulder, forgetting about the IV insertion.

"Ow!" He cries out as the needle jabs his arm.

"Oh, careful!" says Sora. She then takes out her First Aid kit and motions Elecmon to come forward. "You think it's okay to remove it now?" she asks him. Elecmon just rolls his eyes and grunts in response. "Don't be like that," She says, giving him a stern look, "You promised you'd behave."

Elecmon hesitates and then, sighing with frustration, he approaches Taichi after being handed the First Aid kit. Tentatively, Taichi extends his arm, allowing the Digimon to do what he will. Taichi then braces himself, expecting there to be stinging sensation following the removal of the needle. However, to his surprise, Elecmon handles his arm firmly but gently. Deftly, the Digimon proceeds to remove the the needle and the catheter from Taichi's arm, then immediately applies a sterile gauze to the insertion site. All Taichi feels is a slight pinch. Finally, Elecmon wraps his arm with a bandage.

"Try that out," Elecmon says. Taichi bends his elbow back and forth a bit, as much as the bandage will allow him. There was no pain and not even a drop of blood was lost during the transition.

"Thanks," Taichi says, both grateful and impressed with Elecmon's skill.

"You're welcome," Elecmon replies. However, unable to help himself, he also mutters, "That wasn't so hard to say, was it?"

"Oh, shush, you." Sora says, smiling and giving Elecmon a playful punch to the shoulder.

Taichi then takes up the ramen dish and begins eating. The food was indeed hot, but he scarfs it down none-the-less, not even realizing how hungry he was.

"How long was I out?" He asks between bites.

"I'm not sure," Sora replies, looking at Elecmon questioningly.

"About twelve hours," Elecmon answers. "Of course, that's harder to determine now given what happened with the sun recently."

Taichi stops chewing his food for a moment and looks at Elecmon seriously.

"You guys saw it too?" he asks after swallowing. Sora and Elecmon both nod.

"Yeah, we saw it sometime after we found you," says Sora. "Haven't figured out what's going on, though."

Taichi goes back eating, but notes that Sora's eyes are studying him once again. Realizing he's still shirtless, he quickly dons his t-shirt. Sora blushes again, and Elecmon shakes his head.

"If your face turns any redder, you'll start to look like me," he tells her. Sarcastically, he adds, "Should I give you guys a little more…private time?"

"No!" Taichi and Sora say in unison, causing Elecmon to chuckle.

"Anyway," Sora says, trying to change the subject, "although I figured out what my name was, I still don't know… _who_ I am…" She looks to Taichi expectantly. "Taichi, can you tell me about…well about _me_?"

Taichi forces down another mouthful of noodles, and says, "About you? Sure, I guess, but…I don't even where I should start."

"Well, how about when we first met?" Sora suggests. Taichi thinks for a second, nods, and proceeds to tell Sora about the first time they'd met…

...

Sora's interest never wanes as Taichi talks. However, this is probably more due her investment in trying to figure out her own identity than Taichi's skill at storytelling. Elecmon is left snoring on a couple of occasions and, every so often, Sora would have to nudge him awake. It's not until Taichi starts talking about the day they received their Digivices and were summarily pulled into the Digital World that Elecmon's ears perk up. In particular, Elecmon takes keen interest as Taichi goes on to talk about how they achieved child-level and then adult-level evolution.

"You're saying they just evolved by fiat?" He asks. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," says Taichi, leaving Elecmon stunned with amazement.

Upon mentioning Sora and Piyomon's interactions, Elecmon's look interest immediately turns to discomfort. Sensing his jealousy, Sora scratches his head affectionately, putting him somewhat at ease.

"Continue, please," she says to Taichi.

Taichi then goes on to talk about all the events including and leading up their subsequently defeating Devimon at File Island. Upon describing Angemon, Sora's eyes go wide with wonder.

"An angel?" She asks. Taichi confirms it.

"It was an awesome thing to see," he says. "But…"

Taichi tells them about how Angemon died and was later resurrected, to which Sora begins to tear up. Taichi stops for that moment, but she motions for him to continue. He then talks about how they constructed a raft and set out for the server continent, all with the help of File Island's residents—including the Elecmon from the Village of Beginnings. Taichi then looks directly at this Elecmon as he mentions this.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the guy," Elecmon says. "Of course, I think just about _everyone_ knows him."

Taichi then goes on to tell about their encounter with Whamon.

"You were… _eaten_?!" Elecmon asks with a look of disgust. Taichi nods and mentions the black gear they'd found inside Whamon's stomach lining. "Blech!" Elecmon gags, sticking his tongue out in revulsion.

However, the point in the story at which Elecmon becomes extremely invested is when Taichi talks about their encounter with Etemon. Taichi tells them about their incursion into the inverted pyramid, his saving Sora from Nanomon, and their final confrontation with Etemon where MetalGreymon blasted him into oblivion. Upon hear that, Elecmon's jaw drops wide open.

" _You killed Etemon_?" He gasps. Taichi nods. "That little Koromon too?" Taichi nods again. For heavy moment, Elecmon just stares at Taichi, speechless.

"Well, this is excellent news!" Sora says, breaking the silence and rising to her feet. "We don't have to hide anymore!"

"Hide?" Taichi asks. "You were hiding?"

"We _were_ ," says Elecmon, "I suppose I should have suspected something happened to Etemon given how he hasn't returned for so long."

Taichi looks at him curiously. Sora then nudges Elecmon, whispering "let's show him" into his ear. Elecmon nods at her eagerly and the proceeds to head for the door again.

"This way, Taichi," He says. Taichi follows and can't help but notice that Elecmon is no longer referring to him as "kid" now.

Sora and Elecmon lead Taichi about the underground facility. From what Taichi can determine, the main door that he had collapsed upon the night before had lead downward into this large underground shaft. As he had noted earlier, the shaft was indeed big enough to have accommodated a monster of MetalGreymon's size. All along the wall of the shaft leading dowward are a number of doors, most of which Elecmon say lead to various rooms including a mes hall, various supply closets, washrooms, or dorm rooms similar to the one that he had been placed him in.

"Most of the electronics are damaged," Elecmon explains. "That's why we put you where we did. It's one of the few dorms with a reliable light source."

"Where did you put Koromon?" Taichi asks.

"He's safe." Elecmon tells him. "In fact, we're going see him right now. Don't you worry; he's in good paws."

"—and hands," Sora says, happily waving hers in front of her.

"That's a good one," Elecmon tells her. "I'll have to remember that."

Taichi marvels at how well the two of them are getting along with each other. Then again, they had gotten to know each other for a quite few months, so they'd probably established a pretty close bond by now. Even so, Taichu wonders at how Elecmon would react if Sora was ever to be reunited with Piyomon? That is, if they ever found Piyomon—or anyone else for that matter.

As he peers farther down the gaping shaft of the facility, Taichi can see that, beyond a certain point, the lights had completely stopped working, leaving whatever lies deeper below in utter darkness. Drawing ever closer to that pit leaves Taichi with a dreadful feeling and his body shivers.

"You feel it too, huh?" Sora says, having taken notice. Taichi grunts with discomfort.

"Are we going down there?" he asks Elecmon.

"Don't be ridiculous," Elecmon scoffs. "There's nothing but Geremon down there."

"Geremon?" Taichi inquires.

"Yeah," replies Elecmon. "They're like Numemon, except far more aggressive. But they hate bright lights, so they usually stay put…usually."

Eventually, the three of them arrive at a doorway which Taichi notes is at the very edge of where the light begins to dim and transition into the darkness. Looking back up the shaft, he notes they're quite a long distance away from the massive doors leading to the surface. The door they're now entering has the word "Lab" posted above its frame and, appropriately, the room beyond is full of laboratory equipment. That being said, much of it is trashed and scattered about like an earthquake had come through.

"What happened here?" Taichi asks.

"Etemon, apparently," Sora answers him. "He used this facility as a breeding ground for Tyranomon." She turns to Elecmon and asks, "isn't that what you told me?"

"Aye, that's Correct," Elecmon replies. Then, to Taichi, he says, "those Tyranomon that you said that Etemon was using to guard his pyramid? Well, a lot of them came from here. He was breeding Monochromon as well, but mostly just to pull around that damn trailer of his."

"What about the Gazimon?" Taichi asks.

Elecmon shakes his head, "No, Etemon recruited them. No doubt he liked how quickly they fell in line. Not many others would do the same;" gravely he adds, "and so that's where the cables came in."

Taichi nods in understanding, but asks, "and what about you?"

"Me? I escaped captivity along with a few others. All of us were being prepped for our eventual evolution into Tyranomon."

"You evolve into Tyranomon?"

"Possibly. I won't know until it happens, right?"

"What about all the others you menioned?"

"I...I don't know."

Elecmon goes on to explain how some had managed to escape into the desert, while others died by Etemon's hand. Others still took their chances by delving into the darkness below the facility.

"Nobody ever returned from there." Elecmon says ominously.

"You tried escaping through the desert, didn't you?" Taichi asks.

"I did; that's when I found Sora."

Taichi stops walking for a moment and looks at Elecmon with newfound respect. Elecmon looks back at him inquisitively.

"What's the matter?" He asks, "You need to take a bathroom break or something?"

"Elecmon, you risked your life to rescue Sora, rather than save yourself," Taichi tells him.

"Well, I…yeah…" Elecmon says, bashfully. "I guess…"

"He's so modest," Sora says, smiling. Elecmon just gives her an annoyed look.

"Okay, okay," he says, "that's enough of that now. Let's keep moving..."

...

After meandering through the ruined lab, the three of them reach a trashed set of double doors. Beyond lies a large network of hallways into which they all proceed. Once again, Taichi is reminded of that brief period time he'd spent at the hospital, visiting Hikari. Only the hallways here are much darker and there is a distinct lack windows or even pictures on the wall. In fact, the walls are completely vacant, streaked with filth and floors were also quite grimey. More fluorescent lighting flickers overhead, increasing Taichi's sense of dread-as if, at any moment, the lights could go out and leave them all in darkness. As if that wasn't bad enough, they pass by several doorways and passages where the ceiling had collapsed, blocking access. Taichi tries as best he can not to imagine the ceiling falling into pieces about them, with nothing but layers upon layers of dirt between them and the surface above.

"I was spooked too, when I saw this place," Sora tells Taichi, sensing his unease. "But like we said, we've been living here for a few months now and everything's been intact ever since."

"This facility wasn't always used to house Etemon's minions," Elecmon explains. "He just took it over sometime after it was abandoned."

"Do you know who abandoned it?" asks Taichi.

"The D-Brigade," replies Elecmon. "They've several other facilities spread across the Server Continent. They might even have one on File Island for all I know. But most of them are abandoned nowadays."

Before Taichi can ask him what the "D-Brigade" is, the three of them arrive at another set of dilapidated double doors labeled "Greenhouse." Appropriately, the doors lead into a great indoor terrarium set amidst artificial lights. Misty air and the pungent odor of wild grass awaits them inside.

"Welcome to the nursery," says Elecmon.

As far as Taichi can see, the "nursery" is made to accommodate a large variety of food-bearing plants. As they continue inside, Taichi feels like he's entered an entire forest, except buried deep within the earth. Looking about even further, he catches sight of a few small creatures hopping about and summarily hiding themselves amidst the shrubbery. Taichi recognizes them as being Tsunomon, the same as Yamato's partner before evolving into Gabumon. Elecmon and Sora assure the Tsnumon that Taichi is a friend and the baby Digimon slowly peak their heads out.

"This human," Elecmon says, pointing at Taichi, "he defeated Etemon!"

The Tsnumon begin to hop out, one by one, and they look at Taichi curiously. Taichi then sits down on the floor in an effort to appear as non-threatening as he can.

"Is Etemon really...dead?" One of them asks.

"Dead as dirt!" Elecmon says with a wide grin on his face. "Which means we can finally get out of this stinking hole and breath some fresh air."

At once all the Tsnumon come out and about, cheering and jumping for joy. A few them leap onto Taichi, nuzzling him like a bunch of cats, all the while thanking him for what he's done.

"You're welcome guys," says Taichi, "but, don't give _me_ all the credit. Where's Koromon?" The Tsnumon all stop cheering for a second and give him a worried look. All at once, they turn to Elecmon. Taichi does as well, asking him, "Is Koromon all right?"

"I'll go and fetch him," Elecmon says anxiously; and then hurries away into the surrounding forest. Sora sits beside Taicih and explains what had happened:

"When we brought you guys in, Koromon was in pretty bad shape. We've done the best we can for him and the Tsnumon are helping us too. We gave him plenty of food and drink, but...he's still very sick…"

"Sick?" Taichi asks in surprise. Then, he recalls that, back on File Island, Gabumon had briefly become sick after lending Yamato his fur coat to deal with the cold weather. "That's right," he says. "Digimon can get sick too."

Sora nods, and talks about how, in the previous month, she and Elecmon had to spend some time and care with several of the Tsnumon who had become sick as well.

"It's this place, Taichi," she says, motioning around her. "It's all closed in, locked tight and, well…because of Etemon, we had to take care about opening the main door and drawing too much attention to ourselves."

"Did _you_ get sick?" He asks her.

Sora nods and taps her throat with her hand. "I had a cough and a pain in my throat; that happened within about a week when I first woke up here. But it passed after a few days." She looks back at the surrounding Tsnumon who've all gone back to playing amidst the trees. "It's a different story when these little guys get sick, though. They're still babies."

"Sora, I…" Taichi begins to say.

"Hmm?" Sora asks.

"…Thank you...for everything," He replies. "I know you can't remember anything but you're still as kind as you ever were."

"That's wonderful to hear!" Sora says, beaming at Taichi. "And thank you for telling me."

Just then, two of the Tsnumon pass by, each of them carrying an apple lodged atop their horned heads. Both Taichi and Sora take them, gratefully, and eat.

After a while, Elecmon returns, cradling Koromon in his arms. To Taichi's shock, the little Digimon is a pale as he was before. Moreover, the veins beneath his skin have become transparent, running like darkened spiderwebs beneath his flesh.

"I've never seen anything like this," Elecmon confesses, gently passing Koromon to Taichi. "We've given him food, water, and even some medicinal herbs; but he just seems to be getting worse by the hour."

Taichi removes his gloves, placing one hand on Koromon's forehead and the other on his own forehead. He can feel the little Digimon trembling as he does so.

"Taichi…?" Koromon whispers.

"I'm here, Koromon," Taichi assures him. He then looks at Sora, telling her, "He's really hot. I think he might have a fever."

"That's what we figured too," says Sora, "but that…that discoloration is what really had us worried. It happened soon after we brought you guys inside."

"You have any idea what caused it?" Taichi asks.

"Retrace your steps," Elecmon suggests. "After you defeated Etemon, what happened next?"

Taichi then realizes he hadn't even gotten to telling them about the explosion and his trip to the real world. Without giving them many details as to that excursion, he continues his story from before.

...

"So, you went back to your world, huh?" Elecmon says, scratches his chin as he thinks about it. "It's possible he may have caught something while he was there…"

"He seemed like he was all right when we got back," Taichi says. "He even evolved into MetalGreymon again…" Taichi proceeds to tell Elecmon and Sora about the chance encounter with the Tyranomon in the sand pit, saving it, and then heading off in the direction he'd believed the Tyranomon had motioned. Elecmon jumps at the mention of the Tyranomon and confirms that it was indeed from this facility.

"He was definitely telling you to come here," Elecmon says, "and you risked your lives to save him? That, on top of defeating Etemon…" The red fox then marches up to Taichi very stoically and extends his paw. Taich takes it, somewhat awkwardly, and Elecmon grips Taichi's hand firmly. "Taichi," he says, "I…I'm truly sorry for how I treated you before. There was definitely no reason to mistrust you. I…no, _we_ owe you everything."

"…Thanks, Elecmon," Taichi replies. "But you don't need to apologize. You were just being cautious, after all."

"We'll do everything we can to help Koromon!" Elecmon says with determination. Then, his face lights up as he gets an idea. "Those… _things_ you were carrying…" he asks. "That necklace and that gadget. Didn't you say they caused Koromon to evolve?"

Taichi nods, "Yeah, my Digivice and my Crest—" his eyes go wide as he realizes, "—oh! Where did you put them?"

"Didn't we leave them in the surveillance room?" asks Sora.

Elecmon nods and once again motions for them to follow him. And they're off again. Sora can't help but smile, apparently overjoyed at how well Taichi and Elecmon are getting along now. The three of them head back to the series of hallways; a maze to Taichi, but at least Sora and Elecmon seemed to know their way well enough. Meanwhile, Taichi continues to cradle Koromon's trembling body which is still very warm.

"Hang in there, little guy," Taichi whispers to him.

...

They soon reach a doorway labeled "SURVEILLANCE" and head inside. The room is lined with desks and computer screens, some static, some blank, and some that showed various portions of the facility. Elecmon searches about the desk drawers, muttering something like "where did I put it?" as he does so. Taichi takes a quick scan about the room and, in the corner, he notices an open container of ramen at one of the desks. The monitor in front of the desk shows one of the dorm rooms.

"Is that…?" Taichi asks.

Sora nods: "We were keeping a close eye on you," she tells him.

"Looks like you didn't waste any time running to meet me when I woke up," says Taichi, looking at the half-eaten ramen noodles. Sora laughs pleasantly.

"Well, yeah. I was excited, y'know?" she says. "I mean, I heard you say my name when we brought you in. I figured you were my best chance at telling me who I really was."

"Yeah…" Taichi says. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be more help."

"What do you mean? Without you, how would I have figured things out?"

"But, these are just _my_ memories of you, Sora. They're not _your_ memories. Your entire life…it's just…gone, right?"

Sora stares into space as she usually does when deep in thought. Then, she says, "When I first woke up, it was the most terrifying thing. I…I can't even explain it." She looks at Taichi earnestly, "I mean, can you even imagine waking up and not even knowing your own name?" Taich shakes his head. Sora continues, "well, after we've helped Koromon, I'll tell you all about what happened to me and Elecmon in the past couple months. Although it's not much of a story."

"I look forward to it," Taichi tells her.

"Aha!" Elecmon exclaims, grabbing Taichi and Sora's attention. "Here they are!" From one of the desk drawers he retrieves Taichi's Digivice and Crest. However, even as he does so, his face is immediately drawn towards one of the computer screens. "What in the…?" He says under his breath, staring intensely at the monitor.

"Something wrong?" Sora asks. She and Taichi investigate the screen he's looking at. As far as Taichi can see, the monitor overlooks the outside of the facility. Through a bit of static, he sees a group of reptilian Digimon walking around outside the main door. They're similar to Agumon in size and shape, but what's particularly remarkable is that they're dressed head-to-toe in combat gear, each one wielding some kind of rifle.

"Commandramon…" says Elecmon. Taichi notes Elecmon's tail has begun to spark up again. "They're trying to find a way inside."

"You've seen them before?" Taichi asks.

"No...but I know _of_ them." Elecmon explains. "Remember when I mentioned the D-Brigade? They're...some kind of an elite task-force working on behalf of the Metal Empire."

"Metal Empire?"

"Yes."

Elecmon's answer seemed to imply this was common knowledge. Taichi is about to question further, but Elecmon motions for him to be silent as he continues watching the screen. To their collective shock, one of the Commandramon points at the camera and yells something to his fellows. Then, another marches straight up to the camera, close enough that Taichi can make out the digitized camouflage coloring its flesh. A second later, and the Commandramon brings the butt of its rifle down on the camera, causing the screen to become pure static.

"They cut the feed!" Elecmon remarks. Anxiously, he turns to Taichi and Sora and tells them, "We need to hide; and fast!"

A dozen questions buzz throughout Taichi's mind, but he settles for taking action. "Right!" He says, "I'll go gather the Tsunomon!"

"No, you Idiot! You'll just get lost," Elecmon warns him sternly. "Wait here and take care of Koromon. We may need his help, if you can get him to evolve. I'll be back shortly." With that Elecmon sets Taichi his things down on the desk and darts out the door.

"Hey, what—" Taichi begins to say, but he feels Sora's hand on his shoulder.

"He'll be fine," she says, "and don't take his words personally. He just gets like that when he's nervous. He _really_ respects you, Taichi." Taichi nods and then attends to Koromon. Donning his tag and Crest, he brings his Digivice close to the baby Digimon.

"Wake up, Koromon," Taichi pleads, clenching his Digivice in his fist. "We're in this together. The fight isn't over; we need you…." Koromon continues to tremble in Taichi's arms, but otherwise doesn't react to his words. "Koromon, please…" Taichi says and a few tears fall from his eyes. "We need you…now more than ever…"

Sora then lays her hands gently on Taichi's clenched fist. She looks at Koromon with fierce determination, saying, "Don't give up, Koromon; be strong, be brave…" and looking up at Taichi she adds, "…be like Taichi."

"Sora…" Taichi says in surprise.

At that moment the two of them start glowing. An orange light dons about Taichi and a red light about Sora. Both of them react in awe at each other's aura. Then, after a few minutes, the auras fade, leaving both of them exchanging glances of bewilderment.

"Did you see…?" Sora asks.

"Yeah, I—Ouch!" Taichi is interrupted by a sharp pain on his hand, causing him to drop his Digivice. Koromon had bitten him! The baby Digimon then leaps from Taichi's arms onto the floor, growling maniacally at his surroundings.

"Taichi!" Sora exclaims, "His eyes! Look at his eyes!"

Koromon's pupils had widened dramatically, like those of an angry cat.

"Evolve!" Koromon shouts. "Koromon, Evolve!"

"Evolve?" Taichi asks. "Koromon, Are you—"

"Evolve!" Koromon shouts again. Taichi's Digivice has begun to glow. Cautiously, Taich lifts it from the floor and as he does so, its lght fills the room. Instinctively, Taichi and Sora shield their eyes from the brightness.

Koromon continues to shout. "Evolve! Koromon Evolve!" Then, Taichi hears Agumon's familiar voice announce his own name: "…Agumon!" The light fades and Taich and Sora uncover their faces. Taichi then takes a step back in shock at a brand-new development: Koromon had indeed evolved into Agumon, but Agumon's flesh was as black as night!

"A-Agumon…?" Taichi asks. Agumon looks at Taichi with intensity, cocking his head to the side.

"Taichi?!" he says. "Where are we? What's been going on?"

"Agumon, your skin! Are you…okay?"

"Huh?" Agumon looks at his arms, legs, and body in surprise. "I'm all black now!"

"Is…is that not...normal?" Sora asks worriedly.

Before Taichi can respond, a sinister voice echoes about the interior of the facility:

"Attention, all occupants of Bunker Zero-Zero-Niner! This facility is under the jurisdiction of the Metal Empire! Surrender yourselves to us or be destroyed! This is your only warning!"

A rumble can be heard throughout the facility as if an isolated earthquake had occurred. Sora rushes to a computer screen overlooking the interior entry and is horrified to see the doors to the facility have been breached. Smoke pours into the facility along with a number of Commandramonn, rifles held at the ready.

"They're coming!" She says.

"Then let's bring it to them!" Agumon snarls. Trickles of fire lick the corners of his mouth and he very roughly pushes past Taichi and Sora, rushing out of the room.

"No, wait, Agumon!" Taichi shouts. "Agumon!"

To Taichi's dismay, Agumon ignores him and takes off down the hall.


	4. Unhappy Decisions

Having supped well the night before, Yamato and the others wake up late into next morning. As he stretches and yawns, Yamato looks over to where Sora had been and finds she's taken to staring across the lake once again. It is as if she hadn't moved all from her previous location. He hadn't seen her partaking in last night's festivities and he wonders if she had even gotten anything to eat. Despite his concerns, Yamato says and does nothing, unsure of how best to proceed with Sora at this point in time. He contemplates asking Mimi for advice or to persuade Mimi to say something to Sora. There, however, he also considers how set apart the two girls are, personality-wise. One cannot simply establish a repertoire between two people based solely on the fact that they are of the same sex. So, Yamato is left busily racking hi brain. He had to come up with something on his own. He had to prove his worth in Taichi's absence.

Yamato then takes to looking about the campgrounds, noting that the grass had been left strewn with banana peels, melon rinds, apple cores, and other remains. The roaring bonfire from last night had long since sizzled out. Apparantly, all of the Koemon had departed into the surrounding jungle. Hanumon is nowhere to be found either. When he looks for Gabumon, Yamato's eyes are drawn to the distant area where he'd seen Hanumon speaking with his Digimon partner. There, he is surprised to see not Gabumon, but Garurumon sitting upright upon a large stone. The lone wolf is like a statue, stoic and vigilant. Although impressed by this image, Yamato is also puzzled. When and why did Gabumon evolve? And how long had he been maintaining his Adult form?

Garurumon senses Yamato's eyes and looks back at him, nodding gracefully before leaping from the rock and approaching. The great wolf nuzzles Yamato who affectionately pats his nose in return.

"Garurumon, when did you…?" Yamato asks.

"Sometime last night," Garurumon replies. "Hanumon and I went to scout ahead, and I figured I'd cover more distance as Garurumon."

"But you've stayed like this the whole night?"

"I did. I don't know why, but it seems so much easier to maintain this form now." Then, leaning a bit closer to Yamato, the wolf whispers, "can I speak with you in private?"

"Private?" Yamato looks puzzled, but replies, "Sure."

Garurumon motions Yamato to climb upon his back. Yamato does so and then addresses everyone else at the camp: "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Where are you going?" Mimi asks.

"Garurumon and I are going to scout ahead," Yamato answers.

"What if we need you?" Jyou asks timidly.

"I won't be too far," Yamato assures him. He points to a ridge, distant, but close enough to be seen, "I'll be over there if you need me." Yamto then looks to Sora. She doesn't acknowledge him; seemingly content to sit there and stare into space. "Sora?" Yamato calls out to her. She glances back at him, a blank look on her face. He requests, "Would you take charge until I get back. I shouldn't be too long."

Sora nods nonchalantly and turns away again, staring back at the water. Yamato's heart sinks. How long was she going to keep this up?

… _not until Taichi comes back_ , he thinks to himself. Nevertheless, he thanks Sora and departs with Garurumon into the surrounding forest.

...

After a few minutes, the pair of them reach the top of the ridge, achieving a clear view of the surrounding area. Garurumon deftly climbs to the top of a jutting rock, his footing as sure as ever. At its top, the wolf looks towards the horizon, setting his eyes on a distant stretch of jagged mountains, about which a dense bank of clouds hovers, masking the mountainpeaks. Yamato stares at their destination as well, swallowing hard.

"Cluster Mountains," Garurumon explains, "Hanumon told me all about them the night before."

"Cluster Mountains…" says Yamato contemplatively. "What's so special about them?"

"Hanumon mentioned a rumor that there's a city hidden there."

"A city?"

Garurumon nods.

Yamato looks about the fog-covered peaks and wonders about the prospect. The shadowy clouds give him an eerie feeling. However, considering their lack of knowledge about the Digital World in general, Yamato thinks that making an investigation might be worthwhile. Otherwise, they would just be wandering about aimlessly.

"If there _is_ a city there," Yamato tells Garurumon, "then it's possible we'll find a way to get Koushiro's laptop connected to the network again." He gives Garurumon a congratulatory pat and Garurumon growls in appreciation. Yamato then asks him, "Now, what did you want to talk in private about?"

"I didn't want Sora to hear this next part," Garurumon admits, "but when she told you how 'you'll never replace Taichi,' that…that was…" Garurumon snarls, somewhat startling Yamato.

"That really upset you, huh?"

"Of course! She's just plain _wrong_! You're _more_ than capable!"

"Garurumon, I…" Yamato becomes bashful. "…thanks."

"It's just saying it how it is," Garurumon replies matter-of-factly. "I know Sora is our friend, but..."

"Don't be too hard on her. She's just scared." Under his breath Yamato adds, "…we all are."

"That's no excuse!" Garurumon protests. "What Sora said to you doesn't do you… _us_ any good."

"I know, I know; But I think Sora knows that too. She seems to feel bad about it."

" _Do_ something about it," Garurumon says with determination.

"Do something…?" Yamato replies. Curious, he asks, "What do _you_ think I should do about it, Garurumon?"

"Well…" Garurumon thinks for a moment. A gleam comes into his eyes as the wolf replies: "You could fight her!"

" _Fight_ her?!" Yamato's eyes go wide.

Garurumon nods eagerly.

"That's…I mean...I would _never_ fight Sora…" Yamato stammers.

"Why not? When you and Taichi fought, everything turned out better, right? So if you and Sora—"

"No, Garurumon. It…it wouldn't work that way."

"Why not?"

"Because, Sora is…" Yamato hesitates, trying to think of the best way to make his partner understand. "Garurumon, let me ask you: if you and Piyomon had a disagreement, would you fight with her?"

"Piyomon?" Garurumon asks, pondering the question seriously. "Piyomon and I have _never_ disagreed with each other. We _always_ get along."

"And why is that?"

"That's easy! Piyomon is my friend. She's always happy and tries her best to make everyone else happy too." However, Garurumon adds, "Although, sometimes she tries a bit _too_ hard..."

"Aha!" Yamato remarks. "She gets on your nerves sometimes, right?"

"I guess..." Garurumon admits.

"But you never got into a fight with her about it, right?"

"Well I…no, of course not! That wouldn't be…" Garurumon suddenly realizes: "Is it _that_ way with you and Sora?"

"...more or less," Yamato says, shrugging.

The two of them go silent for a time. The space is filled with the sounds of rustling leaves, trickling water, and Koemon chattering about the trees. As upbeat as this morning seems, Yamato's stomach churns as he looks upon Cluster Mountains. The more he watches the darkened clouds billowing about, the more unnerved he becomes. What kinds Digimon lie beyond? Would they be as powerful as Etemon?

"Garurumon, do you feel like you could evolve?" Yamato asks.

Without missing a beat, Garurumon replies, "Possibly." Yamato looks at him in surprise. The wolf continues: "Right now, sustaining this form is no problem. And with what happened yesterday…I feel stronger than ever."

"We make a pretty tough pair, don't we?" Yamato gloats.

Garurumon chuckles to himself—a deep guttural growl of a chuckle. "I should tell you," he says, "Hanumon said he was impressed by your 'audacity'—as he called it—when you came between us. You reminded him of Leomon."

"Leomon?!" Yamato asks incredulously.

Garurumon nods happily. Yamato doesn't know what to say.

"Anyway," Garurumon says, "We've been out here long enough. Shall we return?"

...

On their way back to the campsite, Yamato lays his cheek on Garurumon's mithril fur. It amazes him how Garurumon's coat is harder than diamonds and yet somehow softer than cat hair. Yamato thinks back to their first encounter with their partners on File Island and he marvels at how far he and Garurumon had come since then. If ever a new conflict arose in the future, Yamato is certain they'd be able to face it. Indeed, he was certain his Crest _would_ glow again and Garurumon would evolve to Perfect level, just as what had happened with Taichi. And, for a brief time, Yamato's mind is completely at ease.

However, when the campsite comes into view, Yamato senses something is amiss. Koushiro and Takeru are waving at him frantically as he returns.

"Big Brother!" Takeru calls out.

As soon as Garurumon arrives, Yamato quickly scans the area, realizing that Sora, Mimi, and Jyou are nowhere to be seen! His face becomes pale.

"What happened?" Yamato asks.

"Sora left," Takeru explains. "We didn't notice at first. But I think she went back to the desert. Jyou ran after her on Ikkakumon."

"What?!" Yamato gasps. He turns to Koushiro, "Why didn't _you_ go after her?"

"Because Tentomon isn't here," Koushiro says defensively, "I...I sent him to find Mimi."

"What?! What happened Mimi?" Yamato demands.

"She grabbed the supply bag and ran off into the forest," answers Takeru.

Koushiro's face turns red as he adds, "she said she needed some...'alone time'."

A pit forms at the base of Yamato's stomach, growing larger as each moment passes. He couldn't even leave everyone for a few minutes before everything fell apart.

"Dammit!" He curses under his breath. "Mimi can't have gotten far..."

"There's no time," Koushiro says, guessing Yamato's thoughts. "We'll stay here and wait for Mimi. _You_ need to go after Sora,"

"I _can't_ just leave you guys alone!" Yamato protests.

"What other choice do we have?" asks Takeru. He lifts Tokomon into his arms, looking at the baby Digimon earnestly. Tokomon looks back at him fiercly. Takeru nods at his partner and looks back to Yamato. "Go, Big Brother," he says. "We'll be fine."

Yamato hesitates. However, when he looks at Takeru, he sees a keen look in his younger brother's eyes. All at once, the pit that had formed in Yamato's stomach begins to abate. Without another word, Yamato nods at Takeru and signals Garurumon. The wolf then darts back into the forest in the direction of the desert.

...

The surrounding trees turn into a green-and-brown blur as Garurumon rushes past them. Yamato clings to the wolf's mane, almost desperately. Eventually, they come to the forests's edge, reaching a transitional point between the mountains and the desert. There, Yamato spots Jyou and Ikkakumon. Given his bulky body, the great snow-walrus is completely unable to keep pace with Birdramon, whom Yamato notes is just an orange dot in the distance.

As he and Garurumon draw closer to Jyou, Yamato calls out to him. Jyou turns towards Yamato, waving in response. Yamato points back towards the trees and tells him: "Go back; I got this!"

Jyou nods and a look of relief passes over his face. Ikkakumon is also relieved, stopping in his tracks and dropping to the ground in exhaustion. Garurumon, on the other hand, picks up the pace, gaining on Sora and Birdramon. Yamato can't even remember the last time Garurumon ran this fast—not even when they were being chased by Etemon. Eventually, the pair arrive at a point directly underneath Birdramon, and Garurumon slows down a bit. Yamato shouts up at Sora, trying to get her attention. To no avail, however, Birdramon is far too high in the air. Is Sora blatantly ignoring them?

Leaning close to Garurumon's ear Yamato asks him, "Will your flames reach her from here?"

"You want me to attack Birdramon?!" the wolf asks him.

"No, of course not! Just...see if you can get her attention."

Garurumon nods and increases his speed again, running ahead of Birdramon. Then, he leaps into the air as far as his legs will take him. Yamato grips Garurumon's mane for dear life as they shoot into the sky, higher than he'd ever thought was possible.

"FOX FIRE!" Garurumon shouts, sending a huge stream of blue flames in front of Birdramon. The great bird is startled by this, stopping and hovering in place as the fire licks the air in front of her. She then turns towards Yamato and Garurumon as the great wolf completes his leap. Garurumon stumbles as he lands, having underestimated the height of the leap. The impact causes Yamato to fall from his back and roll into sand nearby.

Garurumon runs to his aid. Although slightly bruised, Yamato holds up a hand, letting Garurumon know he's okay. Heavy with anticipation, Yamato shields his eyes from the sun as he watches Birdramon make the next move.

"She sees us now," Yamato announces. "But will she land?"

As Birdramon hovers in the sky above, Yamato can barely make out Sora's yellow shirt and blue hat from the back of the bird's neck. His heart begins to race, wondering what he'd do if Sora took off again. How could he face the others if he failed to bring Sora back? But what was he to do if she refused? It wasn't like he could force her against her will—that just wouldn't be right.

To his relief, however, Birdramon begins to descend. Yamato sighs heavily.

"She's landing!" says Garurumon. Yamato runs to meet Birdramon as she alights upon the sand.

Sora climbs down from her partner's back, her face full of rage. Furiously, she stomps towards Yamato.

"Sora, please don't—" Birdramon starts to say.

" _You_ be quiet!" Sora shouts back at her partner, causing Birdramon to hang her head in dismay. Then, Sora turns to face Yamato again, daggers in her eyes. Just like yesterday, Yamato notes that her fists are clenched and so he stands and braces himself. Garurumon and Birdramon keep their distance, looking at each other quizzically, unsure about what's about to happen. Even so, neither one of them interferes.

Sora gets within arm's length of Yamato and crosses her arms. Yamato looks back at her, holding his ground and doing his best not to show any emotion other than raw determination.

"Sora, I—" He begins to say. Suddenly, Sora hits him in the face-a swift jab that causes Yamato to stumble! Automatically, Yamato places his hands over his nose in pain. Sora's punch was quick and he hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did..

"Taichi is _not dead_!" Sora tells him through gritted teeth. "He's _alive_ and you're _not_ going to stop me from searching for him!" She advances on him again, raising both fists. This time, however, Yamato grabs her arms before she can do anything. She struggles for a bit, before shouting "Let go of me!" and delivering a good kick to Yamato's waistline. The pit in his stomach he felt earlier becomes gaping chasm and he reels backward, falling to his knees, wrapping his arms about his stomach, and gasping for air. Now having removed his hands from his face, blood is allowed to trickle his nostril.

When Sora sees what she's done, she gasps. Frantically, she digs through her first-aid kit, eventually producing a gauze pad and applying it to Yamato nose. "I'm…I'm so sorry!" She says, "I…I didn't mean to!" Meanwhile, almost in unison, both Garurumon and Birdramon cock their heads to the side in confusion.

Sora then slings Yamato's arm over her shoulder and, as gently as possible, leads him over to Garurumon.

"Garurumon...lie down, please?" She requests. Garurumon complies and Sora gently leans Yamato against his flank. She then kneels beside Yamato, gently mopping the blood from his face. After a minute or two, Yamato recovers his breath.

"Sora..." He gasps.

"I'm sorry," She says again, "I shouldn't have…"

"It's…okay," he tells her, wincing as he adjusts himself to a more comfortable position. "...can we talk now?"

Sora hesitates at first. Eventually she nods, letting out breath of frustration as she sits across from him.

"We _need_ you, Sora," Yamato says, mincing no words. "I want you to come back with me. We all do. I meant what I said—we'll try to find Taichi as soon as—"

"I _know_ what you said," Sora tells him, shaking her head. "But you don't _mean_ it, Yamato. Not really."

"He _does_ mean it!" Garurumon protests. He growls at Sora, causing her to jump in fear. However a moment later, she shakes her head and gets to her feet.

"Look," she says, "You _don't need me_!" Yamato looks at her questioningly. She turns her head towards the desert, "I was wrong when I said you'd never replace Taichi. You _proved_ me wrong. I realized that when saw your Crest glow." She looks back at Yamato and Garurumon, smiling warmly. However, there are also tears on her face. "You two. You make such a great team. Garurumon _will_ evolve soon; _I'm sure of it_."

"And I want _you_ to be there when it happens…" Yamato says solemnly.

"I know," Sora replies. Yet, she turns and faces the desert again.

"You're our friend, Sora" Yamato tells her. "How can you expect us to just let you leave?"

"I couldn't," She says sorrowfully, "which is why I tried to avoid this. But…Taichi is my friend too. And he's out there; I can _feel_ it!" She shakes her head again, and looks at Yamato earnestly. "I...I know how that sounds, but...I just I can't abandon that feeling. I can't bear the thought of leaving Taichi behind."

"You know how much pain this will cause us. Cause _me_?!" Yamato demands, slowly lifting himself up, "You're going out here all by yourself."

Without warning, Sora runs up and embraces Yamato, causing his cheeks turn bright red.

"I'll manage as best I can," she tells him. She looks over her shoulder at Birdramon and adds, "Besides, I won't be alone."

Slowly, Sora pulls her arms from Yamato and turns from him, proceeding to climb board Bidramon once again.

"You and Piyomon against the entire Digital World?" Yamato asks.

"Not if we make some friends along the way," Sora replies.

Birdramon then prepares to take to the skies again, flapping her mighty wings. As they lift off, Sora gets an idea and removes her helmet, tossing it on the ground at Yamato's feet.

"Let everyone else know you caught up with me;" She calls out. "Tell them…tell them that I love them all and that I'm certain that we'll see each other again in the future. We're the 'Chosen Children' after all, so it's our destiny, right?"

Without waiting for a response, Birdramon takes flight, heading into the blue yonder. Yamato can only stand and watch as she becomes smaller and smaller, Eventually disappearing from his sight entirely.

And, just like that, Sora is gone.

Tears start welling up in Yamato's eyes. Garurumon nudges Yamato with his nose and Yamato buries his face in the wolf's forehead. His tears glisten as they fall upon the mthril fur, cascading down Garurumon's nose like small gemstones. Then, when he has no more tears to shed, Yamato once again lifts himself upon his partner's back and the pair advance once more into the nearby mountains.

...

Yamato returns to the others. To his relief, they're all waiting patiently by the lake. Hanumon is there as well alongside a few of the Koemon. They are all in the middle of a conversation when they see Yamato. Sadly, Yamato shows them Sora's helmet and explains everything that had happened. Of course, he left out the fact that he had allowed Sora to take her frustrations out on him physically. So, when asked about the small bloodstain on his shirt collar, Yamato says he fell off Garurumon (technically, not lying.) Hanumon is the only one who raises an eyebrow. Upon exchanging glances with Garurumon, he looks back at Yamato respectfully and simply says:

"Strong warriors must be willing to bear much pain."

"What are we going to do now?" Mimi asks grumpily.

Yamato looks at her, noting she seems to be at the verge of crying. Shadows encircle her eyes as well, as if she hadn't got much sleep the night before. He's about to ask her how she's feeling, but he quickly reconsiders.

"Garurumon and I scouted a head," Yamato tells everyone. "The best course of action would be to head towards the Cluster Mountains."

"Cluster Mountains?" Koushiro asks.

"Yes, we might find a city there," Yamato explains. "Hanumon mentioned it last night."

"Mind you, it's just a rumor," says Hanumon, "but you won't know for sure until you explore it."

"Well, that should be easy," Tentomon says, "I'll just fly us over the—"

"I wouldn't recommend that," Hanumon interrupts. "The fog hanging over those mountains is electrified."

"Electrified?" Jyou remarks, "Is there a way _through_ , then?"

"I couldn't see one from where I looked," Yamato replies. "But we're still quite a ways away. If we get closer, we might find an entrance."

"And what if we don't find one?" Jyou asks, crossing his arms.

"We'll just have to keep looking, of course," Takeru says cheerfully.

Jyou sighs in frustration.

"I wish you all the luck in your search," Hanumon tells them. "If there's a way inside, I'm sure that—given your abilities—you'll manage to find it."

Hanumon's words remind Yamato of Leomon who had voiced similar sentiments before they'd set out for the Server Continent. After bidding the children farewell Hanumon departs, leaping into the trees.

"So, it's settled then?" Mimi pouts, "Are we just going to leave Sora behind and try to find this so-called city?"

"Sora left _us_ , Mimi," Yamato reminds her, "and she wouldn't be persuaded otherwise."

"But, that means I'm the only girl now!" Mimi whines, her face turning completely sour.

Palmon tries comforting her, saying: "I'm a girl too, Mimi!"

"It's not the same!" Mimi protests, crossing her arms like a petulant child. Palmon shrugs, shaking her head in defeat.

"Yamato, do you think she'll be alright?" Jyou asks.

"We can only hope so," Yamato replies. "Sora is strong. For all we know, she might actually find Taichi…if he's even still alive, anyway."

"But if Taichi is truly dead…" says Koushiro. "Well…Sora will have to stop looking for him _sometime_ , right?"

"I'd hate to see her unravel if it ever came to that," Yamato replies. "She's already as upset as can be right now."

"Enough!" Mimi says, putting her foot down. "No more talking about dead Taichi and lost Sora. Let's just go find this city or whatever it is."

The rest of them are in agreement. Yamato looks at Mimi worriedly. She was correct, Sora had been the only other girl in their group and that really meant a lot to Mimi. Yamato then realizes he was wrong before: Sora had been the only one among them to whom Mimi could really connect with on that level. Now, Mimi would be outnumbered four-to-one (in fact, eight-to-two including their Digimon partners.) The degree of self-consciousness Mimi would be feeling from here on out was only beginning to become clear.

The children and their Digimon then gather what supplies they have, including a new stock of food given to them by the Koemon, and they depart. Graciously, Garurumon allows Mimi, Palmon, and Takeru to sit atop his back as they travel. Tokomon is carried by Takeru, as per normal, while Tentomon is content to fly overhead. The only ones left walking are Yamato, Koushiro, Jyou, and Gomamon.

As they make their way forward, Yamato takes one last look back towards the direction of desert. Sora seemed so certain-holding herself with a level of confidence that Yamato had never seen before. He also wonders at their current circumstances. Each and every one of them had been made to cope in different ways following Taichi's absence. He never would have imagined Sora would go it alone, facing the entire Digital World by herself. Yet, just as Takeru had told him yesterday, Taichi would have wanted everyone to remain strong. Yamato imagines that this was something that Sora simply believed that she had to do-like a quest. If he had denied her this opportunity, he would be doing her an immense disservice. Even so, Yamato remains restless; the pit in hist stomach returns.

 _We'll see each other again in the future._

Sora's words echo in Yamato's head.

"I hope you're right, Sora…" he whispers to himself.

Then, turning around, he sets his sights on their new destination: Cluster Mountains.


	5. Dark Descents

A strange fury had overtaken Agumon, turning him hostile. He ignores Taichi's voice, telling him to stop and so Taichi is made to take off after him with Sora following close behind.

"Agumon! Get back here, you idiot!" Taichi yells. Alas, his partner continues to run wildly throughout the maze of corridors, paying no heed to Taichi's words. As he chases him, Taichi can hear Agumon snarling like a rabid dog. Taichi's mind races for an explanation

 _What's gotten into him!?_ W _hat happened to his skin?_

For a moment, Taichi and Sora see him, speeding headway down a long hallway. Agumon then turns a corner, out of Taichi's line of sight! Then, Taichi hears a collision of bodies followed by the sounds of scuffling.

"Hey!" shouts a voice. "Get off me!"

"It's Elecmon!" cries Sora.

When Taichi and Sora turn the corner, they find Agumon rolling about the floor with Elecmon. In the distance, a small group of Tsnunomon are huddled together, cowering in fear as the two child Digimon fight. Elecmon maintains a tight grip on Agumon's wrists as the reptile tries to claw at his face. Quickly, Taichi takes action, grabbing Agumon about his waist in an attempt to pry him from Elecmon. Anxiously, Sora joins in, taking hold of and tugging Agumon's foot and pulling back with all her might.

"Stop Agumon! He's our friend!" Taichi shouts.

However, Agumon shows a strange resistance, surprising Taichi. The reptile then flails about in a rage, taking both Taichi and Sora by surprise. He shakes both of the children from his body, causing them to fall onto the floor behind him. The distraction is enough for Elecmon to break free, and he leaps back, assuming a combat posture. Agumon ignores him, turning round to face Taichi and Sora. As he does so, he gazes at his prey with two glowing red eyes, lit like two smoldering embers. From Agumon's jaws, blue flames begin to seethe. He looked as if he was prepared to incinerate them.

 _He wouldn't…would he?_

Without thinking, Taichi dives atop Sora, shielding her from the attack. Holding her body tightly in his arms, he squints his eyes, preparing himself as best he to be engulfed in fire.

Fortunately, Taichi remains unscathed. A resounding _ZAP!_ rings out throughout the corridor as Elecmon sends a bolt of lightning straight into Agumon's body, striking him from behind. Agumon cries out in pain and his body thrown forwards into a wall. Scorched, the reptile then falls into heap. Slowly, Taichi lifts himself from Sora. The two exchange a look of embarrassment.

"Are you two okay?" Elecmon asks.

Both Taich and Sora nod at him.

"What's the matter with him?!" Elecmon demands, poised for another attack as he watches Agumon's wriggling body.

"I…I don't know," Taichi replies, still somewhat stunned. "I've never seen him like this before."

Of course, that isn't entirely true, Taichi had to admit to himself, given the SkullGreymon incident. Still, Taichi knows he hadn't abused Agumon nor pushed him into this evolution. This affair is entirely new.

Taichi gets up, also helping Sora to her feet. He then approaches Agumon, cautiously checking him: "Agumon…are you…okay?"

Agumon twitches but doesn't reply. Taichi looks at Sora desperately, only to see her face is marked with fear. His heart sinks. Considering her memory loss, Agumon's nearly incinerating both of them is far from the kind of impression he'd ever wanted Sora to receive upon meeting him.

As everyone collects their bearings, the sounds of marching feet can be heard in the distance. Taichi looks over his shoulder and behold, from the around the same corner they had arrived, two Commandramon appear. Taichi notes they are about Agumon's size and stature, but dressed head-to-toe in combat gear and wielding assault rifles. Taichi notes that their camoflaged skin shimmers and changes ever so slightly to keep in tune with their surroundings.

"Halt!" One of the Commandramon orders. Two Commandramon immediately take up firing positions before three more of them rush from around the corner.

One of them addresses Taichi and Sora: "There's nowhere to run, now, Chosen Children! Now, surrender yourselves to the Metal Empire and—"

"Sir, Look!" Another of the Commandramon interrupts, pointing at Agumon. All five of them then look at Taichi's partner in collective shock "It's _him_!"

All five of the Commandramon stare at Agumon for a good long moment before one of them, apparently the leader, taps another on the shoulder and whispers something to him. Taichi cannot hear what he says. However, Elecmon's ears twitch and cocks his head to the side, intrigued. The Commandramon being whispered to acknowledges the leader and takes off back down the corridor from whence he came, leaving the rest behind. Then, the those four advance, leveling their rifles at their adversaries.

"Get down on the ground!" one of them barks. "Do it now!"

However, Elecmon holds his ground and doesn't budge. He smiles slyly. Meanwhile, Taichi tries to think of some way out of this. He looks down at Agumon again, and is startled when the black reptile's eyes snap open. That same red glow Taichi had seen earlier once again emanates from Agumon's pupils. Without warning, Agumon leaps his feet and faces the Commandramon.

The Commandramon all point their rifles at Agumon. Taichi freezes and watches horror, expecting shots to ring out in that instant. To his surprise, however, the Commandramon all hold their fire.

"On the ground, we said!" The lead Commandramon repeats. "I won't say it again!"

"Are you sure about that?" Elecmon asks sarcastically. The lead Commandramon then Elecmon, aiming his rifle at him.

"Shut it, fool!" the leader shouts at Elecmon. "You _will_ comply, or—"

"Or what?" Elecmon says defiantly. The lead Commandramon stutters incomprehensibly but looks at Elecmon crossly. Elecmon just continues talking, "You know, I heard what you told with your buddy. You need _that Agumon,_ don't you?—" Elecmon points to Agumon, "— _and_ you need him _alive._ "

All at once, the Commandramon break their composure. However, almost as quickly, they recollect their bearing, taking aim at Elecmon. Time seems to stop within that moment. Once again, Taichi holds his breath as he waits for gunshots to fill the air.

Suddenly, Agumon opens his mouth and releases a torrent of blue fire at the Commandramon squad. Taichi and Sora shield their faces as the heat fills the hallway. The flames completely engulf the Commandramon, leaving nothing behind but ash. The Commandramon had fired their weapons, even as Agumon blasted them, but the bullets were also completely vaporized. Taichi gives an audible gasp. Never before had he seen Agumon's fire have such a devastating effect.

As the fires die down, Agumon is left panting heavily. However, as he recovers himself, he looks to Elecmon, Sora, and Taichi again. The eerie red glow had not left his eyes. Elecmon readies himself, guarding Sora. Unwilling to allow his partner to do any harm to his friends, Taichi places himself in directly in front of Elecmon and Sora. He puts his arms out and faces down his partner.

"Agumon, snap out of it!" Taichi demands. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I won't let you harm our friends."

Agumon hesitates and snarls, cocking his head to the side as if looking at Taichi curiously. Taichi's ears begin to ring slightly and his heart begins to beat faster with each passing moment.

"T-Taichi…" Sora whispers to him.

Taichi looks over his should at Sora. Her hand shaking, Sora points to Taichi's waist where his Digivice is latched onto his belt. Looking down, Taichi sees it has begun to glow-not with its familiar golden glow, but now with a red light. Keeping a steady on on Agumon, Taichi slowly reaches his hand to his belt and unhitches his Digivice.

"Easy there, Agumon..." Taichi says.

Agumon continues to watche Taichi with feral intent, but doesn't do anything else.

Taichi then looks at his Digivice, trying his best not to make any sudden movements. On the miniature screen, small red letters appear amidst a blinking hazard symbol. The word "danger" appears a few times followed by the word "leash."

"Leash…?" Taichi whispers to himself. As soon the words have left his mouth, a crimson tether issues from the Digivice, rapidly making its way towards Agumon. Before Agumon can do anything, the red tendril wrap thens itself about the reptile's neck, causing him to gag and fall backwards. Angrily, Agumon claws at the ghostly chain in vain, but is eventually made to submit to it. However, as soon as Agumon is calmed, Taichi feels an intense tugging at his hand as if the Digivice is becoming heavier. Automatically, he clenches his Digivice, disallowing it fall from his hand. His hand is then enveloped in the red light, causing his glove to catch fire. Taichi cries out, grasping at wrist and falling to his knees!

"Taichi!" Sora shouts, rushing to his aid. She reaches out to his hand, but flinches at fire it radiates. Thinking fast, she removes her helmet and attempt to smother the flames. However, her helmet is immediatly consumed. Sora jumps back in surprised, watching in fear and helplessness as Taichi howls in pain. However, a few second later, flame dies. Taichi has fallen to his knees, his face contorted in pain. His righ hand is completely black. Quickly, Sora approaches Taichi, readying her first aid kit.

"Here, Taichi!" Sora says, reaching out, taking his hands into hers as gently as possible. As he applyies an ointment to Taichi's hand, she is surprised to see Taichi unfurl his fingers, revealing his Digivice. Sora gasps! The gadget had sunk itself within Taichi's palm, fusing itself into his skin! Even as she inspects the wound, Agumon lifts himself from the ground, having ceased his previous wrangling with the red tendril. Fortunately, the red glow in his eyes has faded, replaced now with a pained expression.

"No!" He says, looking about him. He spots and rushes over to him. "Taichi! I'm so sorry, I-"

"Get back!" Elecmon stops him in his tracks, becoming electric.

Agumon stops himself short at Elecmon's bequest.

"I...I'm sorry!" Agumon says, pleadingly, "I lost control-"

"Damn right you did!" Elecmon scolds him. "What's the matter with you?!"

"Elecmon, please," Sora admonishes.

Elecmon snorts frustratedly and looks at her.

"He wasn't himself," says Sora, "Taichi noticed that as soon as he evolved."

"You think so, huh?" Elecmon replies, rolling his eyes. He too investigates Taichi's condition, continuing to keep an eye on Agumon.

Given the pain on Taichi's face and the gravity of the situation, Elecmon's previous sternness softens. Gently, Elecmon puts his paw on Taichi's shoulder. "Taichi, look at me," he says.

Taichis stop wincing for a moment and looks at Elecmon, his eyes filled with water and fear.

"The D-Brigade will have reinforcements show up at any moment," Elecmon tells him. "If they find us, it's over. We can't just sit here."

Taichi hesitates for a moment, but then nods at Elecmon.

"Good," says Elecmon. "Can you stand?"

Taichi nods.

"Can you walk?"

Taichi nods again.

"Taichi, I…I'll carry you if you want," Sora offers. Her face turns slightly red as she she reaches out her arms to him, almost like a mother would a small child. However, Taichi springs to his feet in protest.

"No, that's—I mean…I'll manage," He says awkwardly. He grimaces again, however, continuing to grip his wrist.

"Good," Elecmon says, relieved. "Now, if we're spared any more drama—" he shoots a glance at Agumon who turns his head away sheepishly, "—then let's be on our way."

...

The group hurries along the seemingly endless corridors and hallways of the facility. The Tsunomon are glued to Elecmon's tail while Taichi, Sora, and Agumon take up the rear. Even so, Taichi continues to hold his wrist as endless pain hammers his right hand. His is face is pale and wet, his breathing becoming more and more labored as time goes on. Sora looks at Taichi, worriedly and helplessly. Nevertheless, they press on.

Eventually the group arrives at a huge stairwell leading downward. Their current source of light with the hallway would not avail them heading that way. Below they would soon reach a place where no light would be available, and they'd be left in utter darkness. A collective feeling of dread falls over the party. Everyone looks to Elecmon.

"There's no light beyond this point," Elecmon explains, feeling the eyes of the group upon him. "I've only been down there once and I…I didn't get too far..."

"There's nothing for us to use? No flashlights or anything like that?" Sora asks.

"Nothing that works," Elecmon replies frustratedly.

"So, we wander around in the dark, then..." Sora shudders as she peers down the winding staircase.

"Just stick close together," Elecmon orders. "Huddle. Keep everyone in reach. Meanwhile I'll...I guess I'll zap the air in front of me every now and then. That'll give us an idea as to where to go."

"I can help too!" says Agumon.

"No!" Elecmon gives Agumon a stern look.

Agumon gulps.

Elecmon gets serious: "Until we figure out what's going on with you, you'll do absolutely _nothing_! Understand?"

Agumon frowns and opens his mouth to protest, but he's interrupted:

"Just do as he says, Agumon," Taichi says. His voice is apologetic , but firm. Agumon closes his mouth and nods in submission.

For a good, long moment, Elecmon stares into the abyss beyond the stairwell. They all wait in vain, as if in hope for some alternate route to present itself by magic. However, noises echo throughout the facility, reminding the party of their current peril. More Commandramon are on their way. With but one way to go, Elecmon marches into the darkness below. The rest follow close behind him...

...

With great care, each step down that dark stair is measured. Constantly feeling about the walls is also made a necessity as they journey onward. Everyone takes great care to maintain close proximity to one another at all times. The fuzzy bodies of the Tsunomon are gathered close about everyone's ankles as well, giving cause to worry about tripping them up. Thankfully, the slow pace ensures everyone remains upright and stable as they continue.

In any other situation, being this close to Sora would have made Taichi feel self-conscious. However, the only thing on his mind at this time is the ongoing sting of his wounded hand. Moreover, an intense headache had been brought to bear as well, causing Taichi to become dizzy. Even as they descend into an absolute blackness, Taichi questions whether or not he would even notice if he had passed out during the trek. Sora, sensing Taichi's shakiness, helps to steady him, asking every now and again if he's okay. Although Taichi would tell her everything is fine, deep down she knows it's bravado.

"I think I'm beginning to understand you more and more," Sora mentions.

"Huh?" ask Taichi.

"I'm still trying to remember who you are," Sora explains. She smiles and says, "From what I've gather, you're pretty sure of yourself."

Taichi blushes, but says nothing in response.

On and on they go, for what amount of time was anyone's guess. Eventually, Elecmon halts the group and they all stand still for a moment. Everything becomes quiet, safe for the faint rustling of surrounding Tsunomon, nervously bustling about.

"Do you hear that...?" Elecmon whispers, doing his best to calm the baby Digimon. The Tsunomon relax after a few moments, allowing everyone to crane their ears at whatever Elecmon had drawn their attention to. Soon, they all hear it: a faint but present thumping noise and the sound of flowing water. The monotonous tone is like the beating of giant drum.

"What is that sound?" Agumon asks.

"I…I'm not sure," Elecmon admits. "I only ever explored the surface portion of this facility."

They continue down. However, the sound doesn't let up, but seems to grow ever louder. For whatever reason, Taichi imagines an enormous heart embedded within the walls of the facility, pumping blood throughout its corners. He is then reminded of their encounter with Whamon as they crossed the ocean. When Whamon had allowed them to take refuge within his stomach, a similar resonance could be heard from within the creature's interior. Back then, being surrounded by the flesh of another much larger creature was an incredibly frightening ordeal and Taichi remembers how grateful he was to know that Whamon was friendly. Even so, the entire idea of being consumed and digested by a large creature is still terrifying to imagine; and now, for whatever reason, that same fear envelopes Taichi at this moment. Taichi shudders. However, Sora tenderly takes his uninjured arm into hers arms. She shivers, much like Taichi himself is shivering. Seeming to forget himself in that moment, Taichi gratefully draws Sora closer to himself. The pain in his arm seems to subside for that brief moment.

His mind a bit clearer now, Taichi stops in his tracks, suddenly considering what Elecmon had just said.

"We can't stop now," urges Elecmon, "We need to-"

"Elecmon, earlier you talked about the Metal Empire," says Taichi. "What exactly do you know?"

At first, Taichi thinks to accuse him of hiding something. However, given their present circumstances, aggravating Elecmon was the last thing he wanted to do.

"The...the Metal Empire..." Elecmon's reply comes shakily, "I...I don't know much about them other than bits and pieces I've picked up since living here..."

Taichi feels Sora tense up at his arm. She says nothing, however.

"Elecmon, what's going on? How much do you know?" Taichi is blunt.

At length, Elecmon doesn't reply. Taichi can still feel Sora's tenseness and he wishes he could read the expression on her face.

"There's a _lot_ going on, Taichi," Elecmon finally answers, "but, much of it I'm not certain about right now. Besides, now is not the time or the place to talk." He pauses again and the steady beating is allowed to continues about them, adding to the dread they all felt. In earnest, Elecmon tells him, "I promise I'll lay everything out we're safe. For now, just...just trust me."

So, they move on; Elecmon proceeds forward without waiting for a response. Taichi thinks that he ought to have put his foot down and demanded some answers. Yet, considering their current predicament, he thinks better of it. Elecmon is indeed correct; this isn't the time or place to have an argument. So, reluctantly, he continues to follow.

...

The dark descent continues on for what feels like hours before a familiar but unwelcome smell permeates throughout the air. It's an odor that Taichi had become all too familiar with back when they were traveling about the sewers on File Island.

"Numemon?" Taichi asks.

"Geremon," Elecmon corrects him. "I was afraid that we'd run into them sooner or later."

"You said they're more…dangerous, right?" Taichi tries to recall what he'd been told.

"Dangerous?" Elecmon chuckles. "Hardly. They're just more _aggressive_."

"Can they see in the dark?" Sora asks.

"I'm not sure," Elecmon replies. "But they _do_ hate bright light."

"Are we going to fight them?" Agumon asks.

"Hopefully not," answers Elecmon. "I'd rather not poop thrown at me if at all possible."

Even as they speak, the group discovers that the staircase has lead them to a wide expanse of floor. Had they reached the bottom at last?

"Stand back for a moment," Elecmon separates himself from the group. They all wait. Within seconds, a few sparks surround Elecmon's body, dimly lighting up the area around him. Then, a quick bolt of lighting is fired into the ceiling above. The boom echoes loudly, scaring everyone. Yet, the light from the electricity briefly bathes the entire area with light. A few seconds afterwards, the group is allowed to take a vague afterimage of their current location.

They had arrived in what appears to be a huge tunnel. A huge set of train tracks lead down the middle of the tunnel, like those of a colossal subway.

"A train?" asks Taichi.

"Yeah," Elecmon says. "Let's keep moving. Stay close to the wall."

Elecmon's curtness rubs Taichi the wrong way once again.

 _Did he know about this too?_

Nevertheless, the trek continues. Before long, the distinct sounds of wet bodies scooting about the area can be heard. The Geremon are there, lurking about the tunnels, doing who-knows-what as this group of adventurers passes them by. Every few minutes Elecmon would zap the ceiling again. The echoing boom and bright light would summarily cause the Geremon to scatter in every direction. Poop would be tossed in retaliation. Fortunately, the Geremon are horrible aim, impacting the surrounding walls but never hitting their marks. Elecmon does the whole lightning strike routine sparingly as they moved forward, thereby mitigating the risk that at least one of the Geremon might not miss. In spite of Elecmon's assertions, the group is left completely unmolested by the mollusk-like creatures. At best, Taichi hears the Digimon swear and curse, using words he'd often been admonished by his parents against using.

As even more time passes, Taichi feels weaker than ever. The pain in his hand was dull now, but still present.

Sora takes note that Taichi's breathing is becoming more and more labored. "How much longer, Elecmon?" She whispers. "The Tsunomon are getting tired and Taichi is still wounded."

Sora wouldn't admit it, but she was also growing tired.

"I'm well aware," Elecmon replies, somewhat exasperatedly. "But we just can't let up. Not now and definitely not here."

"How would they even find us now?" asks Taichi.

"The D-Brigade have plenty of tech," Elecmon explains. "Commandramon have flashlights and Sealsdramon have night-vision."

"Sealsdramon?" Taichi asks.

"Yeah," Elecmon replies.

There's a terseness to Elecmon's words. Although Taichi is in no condition to stop him, a feeling in his gut tells him Elecmon's is being far from truthful. Yet, within that doubt, Taichi senses there's reason behind Elecmon's deceptions. Taichi is resolved to confront him about this later on-it _would_ happen. Yet, even as Taichi thinks about this, his head begins to spin. Sora, whose arms still locked about his feels his body go limp.

"Taichi?!" She whispers desperately.

Taichi doesn't stir.

Immediately, she hoists him over her shoulders in a fireman's carry position. His body is far lighter than she'd expected, although now show wonders how far she could carry him before she herself would succumb to fatigue.

"What is it?" Elecmon asks, hearing the scuffling of bodies.

"Taichi passed out," Sora explains. "Don't worry, I've got him."

"We need to help him!" Agumon insists.

"Sora has him, Agumon," Elecmon tells him. "Right now, we-"

At that moment, Elecmon goes quiet. Although the others can't see, his ears twitch. The slurping sounds of the surrounding Geremon have gone dead as well. Craning her ear forward, Sora can faintly make out a distant metallic rumbling, echoing about the tunnel.

"What is it?" Sora asks.

Elecmon doesn't say anything, but continues to listen. As he rumbling increases in volume, he gasps in realization:

"Gran Locomon...?!"

As if in response, the sound of a great horn blasts throughout the chamber, startling them.

"We need to move! Fast!" Elecmon shouts. Everyone else sticks to him as closely as possible, moving forward. Beneath her feet, Sora can feel the tunnel vibrating. In the distance, far down the tunnel, lights appear. Their brightness agitates the surrounding Geremon, of which hundreds can now be seen. The Geremon scatter, taking to a distant break in the wall of the tunnel, far from their current location and situated upon the other side of the tracks. Upon seeing the break, Elecmon urges them all group to take refuge there.

"Follow them," says Elecmon. "It's our only chance!"

Easier said than done. Weaving through the Geremon proves to be more difficult that wading through sludge. The distinct sound of wheels chugging fills Sora with terror. Dust and rubble begin pouring down from the ceiling as well. Even as they close in on the breach, a few of the Tsunomon are separated from the main group. Elecmon reacts immediately.

"Sora! Get everyone inside!" he yells as he goes to retrieve the babies. Sora complies, adjusting Taichi as best she can as she pressed onward. Eventually, she, Agumon and the bulk of the Tsunomon make it to the breach. On the other side, Sore gently lays Taichi against the inner wall. More and more Geremon pour in, but Sora is dismayed when Elecmon is not among them. Sora peers out towards the tunnel and sees Elecmon fumbling about the fleeing Geremon, attempting to retrieve the displaced Tsunomon. Anxiously, Sora looks towards the oncoming lights, able to see what's coming. A huge spiked wheel barrels forward, carving the floor like a gigantic circular saw. Behind it, is a massive train with a large face-plate attached to front of it. Sora notices that he train's headlights are a pair of glowing eyes, glaring angrily. The train itself was a Digimon!

Hundreds of unlucky Geremon are plowed over as the great metal beast barrels forward, killing or wounding them. However, Gran Locomon doesn't stop.

Meanwhile, Elecmon has located the displaced Tsunomon, carrying them with him upon his back. However, to his distress, the a sea of Geremon have blocked all access to the breach, leaving no room for Elecmon maneuver about them. With no alternatives in sight, Gran Locomon would be upon him in mere seconds.

"Fight your way through!" Sora shouts to him. Even as she says it, she knows Elecmon would never harm innocents just to save himself, even if they are just a bunch of slimy Geremon. Instead, Elecmon resorts to taking each of the Tsunomon and tossing them like footballs towards the breach. One by one he does this and each Tsunomon is left to happily rejoin his brothers. When all the Tsunomon are thrown to safety, Elecmon takes a deep breath and squeezes his way through the mass of bodies as best he can.

"You can do it!" Sora shouts from the breach. Yet, even as she yells, she his horrified as his furry red body fades and eventually disappears entirely amidst the flood of Geremon.

"Elecmon!" she yells again, watching in horror as Gran Locomon closes in...


	6. Cluster Mountains

Ever since the Chosen Children had come into the Digital World, it had been a common occurrence for them to have encounter hostilities on a daily basis. So, it is with great exuberance that Yamato and the others are able to maintain an otherwise peaceful journey towards the Cluster Mountains. In fact, the walk itself has proved rather pleasant as well. The air is cool and a nice breeze passes through the forest trees, rustling the leaves. Along the way the children notice the sounds of trickling water and happen upon a large river flowing from the nearby mountain range. Koushiro suggests they following the river given the possibility it might lead to an accessible canyon.

As had long been the case throughout the Digital World, a series of signposts are found jutting out at various locations throughout the forest alongside the trees. Stranger still is the presence of microwave ovens lying about the edges of the river, scattered amidst the stones. Investigating the machines reveals none are plugged into any nearby outlets and yet, every now and then, a resonating *DING* can be heard from any one of them at random. As a general rule, the children against using or even touching any of the ovens given the wonkiness of other technologies they'd found in the past.

For a couple of hours now, the children had been traveling, although they weren't aware of how much time exactly had passed since Sora left them that morning. Yamato continues to lead the way with Garurumon striding nobly at his side. The great wolf still comfortably maintains his Adult form, all the while carrying Mimi, Takeru, Palmon and Tokomon upon his back. Koushiro and Jyou take up the rear with Tentomon fluttering about overhead while Gomamon lazily take a nap atop Jyou's head. Everyone except Yamato is talkative; his mind is still set on Sora. Before long, Mimi addresses him thoughtfully:

"Yamatu-kun," She says.

"Huh?" Yamato looks up to see Mimi smiling winsomely back at him.

"Y'know, I was just thinking about Sora..." she says, "I realize now that her heart just wasn't in it. She had her mind made up before we'd even left the desert."

"Oh…" Yamato nods, but his face remains sour.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Mimi insists. "After all, It's _not_ your fault that she left. And…well I'm glad about your decision; and so are the rest of us. I think it was right for us to continue on." She then looks around at everyone else, "Does everyone else think so as well?"

Almost in unison, the others voice their agreement, leaving Yamato almost speechless. This kind of attention and respect was completely foreign to him.

"You guys…" He says, trying to rub off the beads the sweat clinging to his neck. Encouragingly, Jyou comes up beside Yamato and places a hand on his shoulder.

"If you ever need any senior advice," Jyou says, "Don't hesitate to ask me." Gomamon, still resting on Jyou's back, begins to snicker at his partner's words. "What's so funny?" says Jyou, annoyedly.

"Oh, nothing," Gomamon says, chuckling to himself. "Just a…a dream I had."

"What kind of dream?" Jyou asks sardonically.

"One where _you're_ less uptight about everything," Gomamon replies. In response, Jyou straightens his back, causing Gomamon to fall the ground. "Ouch!" says Gomamon, rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head. "What was _that_ for?"

" _You're_ the one who said I was uptight," says Jyou.

"Well, yeah," Gomamon replies, rolling his eyes, "But you don't have to prove me right…"

The trek goes on. The forest eventually gives way to a rocky terrain. Boulders large and small now scatter the landscape, signaling their proximity to the mountain range ahead. Koushiro looks upward, shielding his eyes from the rays of the sun, which rests about the middle of the sky.

"It's about noon," he remarks, wipes a sheet of sweat from his forehead. "I'd say we've been traveling for about four hours by now."

"That long? Really?" Yamato says, clearing the moisture from his own brow. He surveys the rest of the group, deciding what to do. "I think we're getting pretty close," he says. "Just a little further and then we can rest."

Everyone complies. Mimi then tosses them all some of the fruit that had been gifted to them by the Koemon the night before—a light snack as they continue moving.

"You know," Jyou says, biting into an apple, "If we're just data right now, I wonder: why do we still need to eat and sleep?"

"And go to the bathroom?" Takeru adds with a snicker. Mimi giggles as well, much to Jyou's chagrin.

"I've been wondering that myself," Koushiro replies. "More importantly, how susceptible are we to the manipulation of data?"

"Susceptible to the…the _what_ now?" Jyou asks.

"Do you remember when we fought Monzaemon?" Koushiro asks him. Jyou nods, taking another bite out of his apple and Koushiro continues: "When Monzaemon imprisoned us, we weren't ourselves."

"I don't even remember what happened," Jyou says, thinking back to that time.

"I don't either," says Koushiro, "None of us do...except Mimi, of course. But from what Mimi said, we were all acting like zombies."

"Very _childish_ zombies!" Mimi pipes in.

"Right," says Koushiro, "Anyway, I'm thinking that whatever Monzaemon did to us, it reprogrammed us for a brief period of time."

"Re programed?" Yamato asks.

"Correct," answers Koushiro, "our minds, our bodies, everything was completely at Monzaemon's mercy and then forced into a role."

"You mean…we were like a video game character?" asks Yamato.

Koushiro shrugs, "Sort of?"

"It sounds so dreadful!" Mimi remarks, shuddering, "I'm glad I didn't have to go through any of that."

"But if there are Digimon out there who can do that…" says Jyou. Then, he loses his appetite and gives Gomamon the remainder of his apple.

"You know, Jyou," says Gomamon, taking the fruit gleefully, "maybe _I've_ been secretly controlling you the whole time and you never realized it."

"That's not even funny!" Jyou says grumpily.

"If you say so," says Gomamon. "But you did just hand me your food just now. You wanna tell me that was completely voluntary?"

Jyou's face turns red, but he crosses his arms and doesn't say anything. Gomamon just chuckles and bites into the apple.

Meanwhile, Yamato tries to set his mind on other things, not at all willing to conceive of the thought that he could be turned against anyone—least of all his younger brother. But could that _really_ happen? He trembles uncontrollably for a second, trying to focus his thoughts on looming obstacle in front of them: Cluster Mountains.

Reaching them would be the easy part, it seems. Flying or climbing over them would be impossible, given electrical barrier that Hanumon had warned them about. Yamato considers whether or not they would have to travel the perimeter of the mountain range until some kind of passageway presented itself to them. But how long would that take? From their current perspective, the mountain range seems to stretch endlessly from one end to the next. Given the ever-present oddities of the Digital World, Yamato imagines the entire range stretching infinitely both left and right. Perhaps they can just dig their way through?

Yamato's thoughts are interrupted when the formerly cool breeze begins to pick up-ever so slightly. The shadow of Cluster Mountains begins to rise as the sun moves overhead, eventually overtaking them. Looking up, at the mountains, Yamato cannot tell where the peaks end and where the sky begins. The group continues forward regardless.

...

Upon reaching the divide between forest and mountain, the group is surprised to discover a clear line of grass. No trees or boulders can be seen along this divide and the mountains themselves are like a stone wall—completely impassable. The river they'd been following also before the divide, revealed to be sourced by a large metal pipe running underground. Although the pipe appears large enough to accommodate their bodies if they chose to walk through, gallons upon gallons of water forcefully issue from it. Gomamon determines fighting the stream would be impossible.

"It definitely leads into the mountains," says Gomamon, "But I couldn't even fight the current-and I'm aquatic!"

"Aqua-what?" Takeru asks.

"Aquatic!" Gomamon replies proudly. "It means I…I'm a…err…"

"It means he's good at swimming," Jyou replies sardonically.

"So, _that's_ what that means?" Gomamon remarks in genuine realization. "Well, I _knew_ there was a reason I liked that word!"

Jyou gives an exasperated sigh.

The group then decides to approach the divide to examine it further.

"Doe anyone see a way in?" Mimi asks.

"Not yet.." Yamato replies. Cautiously, he approaches the edge of the divide, about to step onto the clear line of grass. However, Garurumon gently stops him.

"Wait," says the wolf.

"What is it?" Yamato asks him. The rest of the group halts as well. Everyone goes quiet as Garurumon lifts his nose into the air and sniffs.

"Something about this is…wrong," Garurumon growls.

Yamato looks around and listens intently. He can hear the rushing river, the breeze rustling through the grass. Then, very faintly, Yamato's ears pick up the distant, whining hum of static-like one would hear in close proximity to a transformer tower.

"There's a power source nearby," says Yamato. Garurumon nods. Looking carefully about the grass, Yamato spots tiny sparks of electricity flitting amidst the green blades. What was that all about? He then warns everyone to stay where they are while he investigates further. In the back of his mind Yamato imagines of Taichi striding across the grass unharmed and making everyone look like a fool as he locates some convenient doorway into the mountains. Earnestly, however, Yamato would have given anything to have Taichi back and leading everyone instead of him right now.

Yamato then takes up a stone from the ground and tosses it towards the mountains. To his surprise, the rock impacts with some invisible barrier. A loud _ZAP_ is emitted along with a flash of light, causing Yamato to jump back. In that instant, the rock is completely vaporized, turning to ash.

"There's your answer," says Garurumon.

"An invisible wall protecting a natural wall?" Tentomon inquires, "That seems redundant."

Carefully, Mimi and Takeru dismount from Garurumon while Koushiro gets as close to the divide as he can to observe their surroundings.

"I agree," Koushiro says, answering Tentomon. "This divide wasn't formed naturally. It's probably artificial."

"What does _tha_ t mean?" Takeru asks him.

"You're learning all sorts of new words today, aren't you?" Koushiro laughs. "'Artificial' means that someone made it."

Takeru still looks confused, but he nods at Koushiro regardless.

"I don't see any way we can get through it..." Jyou ponders.

"That noise is driving me nuts!" whines Tentomon, pulling his antenna to his sides in semblance of someone covering their ears. Yamato thinks for a moment and then snaps his fingers, "Koushiro! We're probably near a power source. Wanna see if your computer is working?"

"Ah!" Koushiro nods at him and quickly un-holsters his laptop and opens it. However, as he peers at the monitor, his face goes askew.

"What's the matter?" Yamato asks, approaching and looking over Koushiro's shoulder. Everyone crows around, witnessing a series of strange green letters skitter across the screen. Of them, Yamato recognizes only a few of the symbols from what he'd read in Koushiro's notes the day before.

"Digital code?" Yamato asks.

Koushiro nods and taps the "Enter" key. The computer reacts and the digital code aligns itself in new patterns. "We're definitely close to a power source of some kind," he observes.

"Are you connect to anything?" Jyou asks.

"Not at the moment, it seems," Koushiro replies. "And…I'm not sure…but, I think someone else is trying to interface with my computer."

"Is that bad?" asks Mimi.

"I hope not," Koushiro says before focusing all his attention on the screen before him. Soon, he's off typing, matching the green text with text of his own. His eyes rapidly dart about his monitor, attempting to decipher every line and match it with his own. Yamato can only begin to understand the depth of what is going on.

"It's some kind of security system," Koushiro comments. "I'm attempting a bypass."

"First the mountains, then an electrical barrier, and now _this_?" Mimi whines. "Why can't anything be simple for once?"

"Everything should be fine, Mimi, don't worry," Koushiro reassures her, "I just have to-" Suddenly the text fades and vanishes altogether, leaving the screen completely blank. "H-hey!" Koushiro stammers in frustration.

"Where'd it go?" Yamato asks.

Koushiro taps a few keys and presses the "Power" button a number of times. To no avail—the computer remains unresponsive. However, the wind about them picks up again, enough that Mimi has to hold her for fear of it blowing away. Then, just quickly, the wind dies. Everyone goes quiet, tuning their ears to any new changes. Yet nothing stirs. The sound of the babbling river is all that can be heard.

Shrugging, Koushiro holsters his laptop again. "We'll have to try something else," he suggests.

The group then sets up a makeshift camp near the river, talking among themselves about the best course of action to take next. As they eat and drink, Koushiro confirms the presence of an invisible barrier.

"I'm not sure why it's set up here," he says. "My guess is that this section of the mountain is accessible and whomever is inside wants to keep intruders out."

"Can we contact whomever is inside?" Yamato suggests.

"I already tried," Koushiro says, shaking his head. Sheepishly, he adds, "I think they purposely denied my computer access after I bypassed their security."

"Can we try 'knocking on the door'?" asks Takeru.

The others look at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" inquires Yamato.

"Our Digimon can attack the mountain," Takeru suggests. "If we make enough noise, then maybe someone will notice."

"Or, we might breach the barrier," Koushiro says, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "I suppose it's worth a try."

Yamato nods and gives his younger brother a thumb's up. Takeru returns the gesture gladly.

Within the next few minutes, Palmon, Gomamon, and Tentomon evolve and ready themselves. On Yamato's signal, each of them fires at the barrier. The impacts cause the barrier to light up and shimmer like the surface of a pond being struck. To the group's collective surprise, the shimmering reveals itself to be some kind of illusory wall. Behind it, the children catch a glimpse of a wide-open space beyond.

"It's just a hologram, after all!" Koushiro exclaims. "This section of the mountains isn't real!"

The illusory barrier continues to shimmer as the Digimon attack it. But then, a glint of metal is seen briefly protruding from one section. Before Yamato can make sense of what it is—

"MAGNETIC BEAM!" Shouts a voice.

Without warning, a red beam is fired at Garurumon's mouth. The wolf howls in pain before collapsing in a heap and reverting back to Gabumon.

"Gabumon!" Yamato cries out, running to his partner's aid, finding his partner scorched and unconscious.

From beyond the barrier, this new adversary appears, revealing itself to be a small, robotic ball-shaped Digimon with an arm cannon and a metal claw. Kabuterimon quickly identifies the Digimon as Metal Mamemon.

"He may be small, but don't misjudged him,"

"Damn right," Metal Mamemon says in response to Kabuterimon. Then, addressing everyone, he says, "You're all trespassing! Beat it or I'll turn the lot of you into piles of ash!"

Mimi, however, overlooks the damage sustained by Garurumon and steps forward, not at all afraid of Metal Mamemon's diminutive stature.

"Why are you doing this?!" She yells at him, stubbornly crossing her arms. Metal Mamemon looks at Mimi and, for a moment is taken aback by her brazen attitude. He looks her over for a moment before replying:

"What is it to you, anyway? You don't belong here," He raises his arm cannon menacingly, "No scram or pay the consequences!"

Surprisingly, Mimi doesn't budge. Rather, her face turns red with rage and she continues to mouth off:

"Why does everyone in this world have to be so rude all the time!?" She stomps her feet in frustration. Then, clenching her fists, she shouts: " _You…you jerk_!" Trembling slightly, she point an angry finger in Meta lMamemon's direction. Surprisingly, he lowers his weapon, a look of curiosity coloring his eyes. Mimi continues: "We're the Chosen Children! We're here to save you! And _this_ is how you repay us?!"

"You're…who?" Metal Mamemon asks, completely befuddled.

Mimi takes a deep breath and begins speaking. Without seeming to take any breaths in-between, she extemporarily recounts all their adventures to Metal Mamemon. Needless to say, everyone including their new adversary listen in surprise as Mimi goes on and on about their journey ever since they landed on File Island. She seemingly leaves out no details, much to the chagrin of the boys as she uncaringly cites her frustrations with Takeru's crybaby antics, Jyou's timidity, Koushiro's constant obliviousness, and Yamato's lack of confidence. She goes on talking for about fifteen minutes straight.

Metal Mamemon can only stare at Mimi in disbelief and confusion as she continues her rant. Meanwhile, the boys listen with mild embarrassment at Mimi's brutal honesty, having been completely unaware of all these feelings she'd been harboring against them. Moreover, Mimi insists how much she misses Sora's company and Taichi's leadership.

However, Mimi's rage soon turns into melancholy. Tears fill her eyes and she openly admits that she's grown attached to everyone given the time they've spent together in the Digital World. She then praises the tenacity and bravery of each of the boys, in spite of what she'd said earlier, furthermore berates Sora and Taichi for their absence. Finally, after having unloaded everything to this stranger she'd only just met, Mimi takes a long, deep breathe and sits down, burying her face hugging her knees as she cries her eyes out.

"I just want to go home…" Mimi whispers to herself, "I just want to see my parents again…"

Everyone, including Metal Mamemon, just looks at Mimi, astonished by this entire display. Normally she'd have Sora to comfort her whenever she was about to go off the rails about any given predicament. Now, however, given a distinct lack of another female presence, the others were witness to a side of Mimi they hadn't been aware of before.

Thankfully, Takeru approaches her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder but saying nothing. Togemon also joins in and, very awkwardly, lays a large red glove about Mimi, doing her best to console her partner.

"Ahem…" Metal Mamemon stutters, trying to recover himself, "Anyways…regardless of…all of that. We…we simply cannot allow you inside! It's not allowed. Plus, you've already nearly jeopardized our security anyway."

At this, Yamato and Koushiro exchange embarrassed glances.

"Mimi is right!" Togemon shouts at Metal Mamemon. "You're nothing but a big meanie!"

"I'm not petty enough to exchange insults with the likes of you, _plant_ ," replies Metal Mamemon, replacing his earlier confusion with a look of scorn. He places special emphasis on the word, "plant" when addressing Togemon.

"' _Plant_ '?" says Togemon, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"It's just as I said," he replies presumptively. "The Metal Empire will never abide the intrusion of plants by any means."

Before anyone can inquire about what the 'Metal Empire' even is, a miracle occurs. Mimi gets up, her face is streaked with tears, but illuminated by a green glow emanating from her body. As she rises to her feet, Takeru eagerly points at her crest!

"Mimi!" Takeru shouts. "Your crest is glowing!"

"What is _that_?!" Metal Mamemon raises his arm cannon once more.

A bit startled, Mimi lifts her tag and crest and confirms that the latter is indeed glowing with an emerald light!

"It's like she said," Koushiro shouts, addressing Metal Mamemon, "We're the _Chosen Children_!"

Mimi's light is then projected towards Togemon, causing her to be surrounded in a green silhouette. The entire group watches in astonishment as Togemon evolves. The green aura then reshapes itself in a smaller, humanoid shape. The next moment, the silhouette disappears and a pixie-like creature is revealed, hair made of vines, and wearing a pink flower for a dress. The newcomer stands just a head shorter than Mimi herself.

Mimi gasps at her newly-evolved partner who then exuberantly takes Mimi's hands into hers and gives them a gentle squeeze, "You did it, Mimi!" the newcomer says, happily. "I knew you could do it!"

"Who…who are you?" Mim asks.

"I'm Lilimon!" The newcomer says, winking. Daintily, Lilimon wipes the tears from Mimi's face and embraces her.

"She's much smaller than Togemon," says Jyou in astonishment.

"You're so beautiful!" Mimi says in admiration. Shyly, she adds "…and cute."

Lilimon giggles and then takes flight, flitting about like a dragonfly. "Look Mimi!" She laughs, "I can fly! I can fly!"

"Surely, you'll let us inside now!" says Koushiro. "This is proof that we're the Chosen Children. Spontaneous evolution! No other Digimon can evolve like that."

"I—" Metal Mamemon begins to say. But then, Lilimon flies up to his face, startling him and causing him to fall backwards. She smiles and giggles at him.

"You can't possibly say 'no' to me, little guy," she says, giving a mischievous wink. "I'm far too cute to resist!"

Metal Mamemon grunts in aggravation and retaliates, firing his weapon at Lilimon. However, Lilimon proves too quick for him and evades every attack, laughing continually at his expense.

"You...!" Metal Mamemon shouts angrily, "I specifically said, _no plants_!" He continues to shoot fruitlessly at the dexterous pixie, not realizing that as Lilimon continues to zip around him, a strange powder issues from her body. Soon, her opponent is covered by a the pollen and he stops his attacks, sneezing uncontrollably. Lilimon then descends behind her adversary. The moment Metal Mamemon recovers, he looks all around, trying to spot Lilimon. She taps him lightly from behind.

"I'm right here, you silly," she says mockingly.

Unwittingly, Metal Mamemon turns and fires his cannon, completely missing his target and accidentally blowing a large hole through the barrier.

"What?!" He says, looking in disbelief at what he's done.

"Much appreciated, _little guy_ ," says Lilimon, laughing with delight in the air above him. "Looks like you opened the door for us after all."

In a rage, Metal Mamemon attempts to blast her again. Lilimon, seemingly forgetting herself for a moment, is hit! She falls from the sky, landing just a few feet away from her adversary.

"Finally got you!" he announces. Seemingly triumphant, Meta lMamemon approaches Lilimon's fallen form and prepares his claws for another attack. "You'll pay for that, plant. You…you…" Her opponent then begins to stumble about woozily, unable to maintain his balance.

"I got _you_!" Lilimon says, lifting herself from the ground. Although still somewhat scorched, she manages to work in a mischievous smile as her adversary falls to the ground. "Temptation," she explains, "I've sapped your energy with my pollen."

"Damn…you..." Metal Mamemon coughs, right before he loses consciousness.

Lilimon's evolution then reverts itself, and she becomes Tanemon. Hurriedly, Mimi retrieves her partner and assess the damage done to her. "Are you alright?" She inquires. Gratefully, Tanemon nods and motions towards the open barrier.

Quickly, Mimi motions to the others to follow her through. Not wasting any time, everyone crosses over, leaving Metal Mamemon behind. Gabumon, still unconscious, is slung across Yamato's back. Meanwhile Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon take up the rear.

After crossing over, the group takes in their new surroundings and are amazed to discover what's beyond. Stretched out before them is a canyon delving deeper inside the cluster mountains. Paving the way forward is an asphalt road lined with lampposts.

"Are those…buildings?" Jyou asks, adjusting his glasses to get a better look. Yamato's eyes look beyond the road and confirm some kind of metropolitan landscape in the distance.

"Hanumon was right," says Yamato, "There's an _entire city_ in here!"

"What's that?" asks Mimi, motioning in the distance. "Something is coming to meet us!"

Indeed, a squad of reptilian Digimon approaches. Their scales colored in digital camouflage, bodies clad in combat gear and wielding assault rifles-these are the Commandramon, the elite foot soldiers of the D-Brigade. The children and their Digimon partners brace themselves for an inevitable encounter…


	7. Qlippothic Nightmare

A thick blanket of blackness surrounds Taichi. Although he sees no light source, Taichi peers down at his hands, feet, and the rest of his body, revealing that—by some strange means—his body is rendered visible to his eyes. Oddly, He also finds that his right hand no longer bears the wound he previously sustained. Curiously, he searches himself for his Digivice, but is unable to find it.

Taichi then scans the darkness, trying to make any sense of his surroundings as he can. He then opens his mouth to shout:

"Hey!" He cries out.

Surprisingly, no sound emanates from his mouth. He tries again, straining his ears to listen to anything. Yet, there is no sound. While he feels his throat vibrating, he is left puzzled at the complete absence of any sound.

Had he gone deaf?

Lifting his fingers to his ears, he rubs his fingers together, making out the soft rubbing of his fingertips.

No, he hadn't lost his hearing. But what—

His thoughts are cut short! A faint whisper echoes about him. He turns his head in several directions, searching for the source. Still, all about him is void. Then, progressively, the voice rises in audibility:

"…Thagirion…Gamaliel…Sathariel…"

Unable to understand the words themselves, Taichi recognizes Agumon's voice. The voice is monotone, much unlike the usual chipper and upbeat he was used to hearing from his Digimon partner. Taichi searches the darkness again, trying to make sense of the chanting. Then, there in the distance, Taighi sees him—the familiar orange reptile, sitting by himself as if sulking in depression. Taichi runs to his partner, attempting to call out again. However, Taichi's voice is indecipherable, as if submerged in water.

Making his way closer to Agumon, Taichi continues to hear him utter more strange words:

"…Golachab…Chaigidel…Thamiel…"

He sounds short of breath. Beyond Agumon's voice, Taichi feels as if he can hear another voice behind it, barely registering, but present enough to be noticed. The other voices is darker and heavier, filling Taichi with a cold dread.

As Taichi closes the distance with his partner, he becomes keenly aware of the thumping of his own heart, beating ever faster and louder. Upon reaching Agumon, Taichi sees that the Digimon is curled up, hugging himself tightly. The Digimon's eyes are closed tightly and his body shivers uncontrollably.

"Agumon?!" Taichi asks, his voice still dampened.

Agumon doesn't reply, but continues the strange chant:

"…Gamchicoth…Harab Serapel…Samael…"

Taichi reaches out to his partner. As he does so, he feels the beating of his heart reach its zenith.

Suddenly, the reptile's eyes pop wide open! Red lights shine from their sockets, glowing ever-so eerily as he stares at Taichi. Agumon's orange skin then begins to shimmer and change color—a black to match the dark canvas. Taichi takes a step back and retracts his hand as his partner gets up from the ground and sets his sights on him. Agumon's body then disappears amidst the void, but his eyes remain. The two red pinpoints then grow larger, rising to a great height, in semblance of a giant creature now staring down Taichi from the darkness. The shape growls—a deep guttural noise with a metallic echo behind it.

"NEHEMOTH!" The monster roars.

Taichi cries out in terror as the eyes advance on him. Expecting to be trampled or worse, the eyes then vanish within torrent of black liquid. The tarry substance then cascades over Tiachi's body, throwing him off his feet. With a splash, Taichi falls into a pool of the same substance and before he knows it, he's up to his neck in it. Taichi is left sputtering as thick liquid envelops his body, dragging him under. He shuts his eyes tightly.

Desperately, Taichi swims upwards, trying to pull his body through the mire. He reaches his hands up, hoping beyond hope that his fingers would reach the surface. To his horror, no such purchase can be found and he is dragged downwards evermore. Finally, his chest heaves, demanding air. As Taichi opens his mouth, a coppery taste fills it, causing him to cough wildly as the strange material flows into lungs. In one final effort, Taichi forces his eyes open, hoping he might see any means of escape beyond the flood…


	8. Platina Mines

Taichi's eys shoot open! He's about to jolt up when he sees Sora's familiar face staring down at him. Taking in his surroundings, he realizes his head is resting on Sora's lap.

Sora's eyes widen with joy.

"You're awake again!" She gasps.

"I…was dreaming…" Taichi mutters, trying to recover his wits and recall the details of a nightmare. He attempts to lift his head, but Sora gently lays him back down.

"Easy now," she says. "We're safe here. There's no need to push yourself."

Taichi complies, his face turning slightly red. However, Sora doesn't seem to mind. In fact, she strokes his hair affectionately as she looks down at him. The gesture seems odd to Taichi; Sora had never treated him this way. Yet, he had to keep in mind her amnesia.

"How long?" Taichi asks, somewhat trying to deviate from the awkwardity.

"What?" Sora asks, confusedly.

"How long was I out?" Taichi presses.

"Oh...uh...about an hour or two?" Sora replies, shrugging. "I...I carried you."

Taichi face turns even more red and he turns away from Sora. He then takes in his current surroundings.

The room they occupy is a booth of some kind, illuminated by the lights of two vending machines. In the corner he sees Agumon, curled and asleep. A single door and window adorn the wall farthest from them.

"Where are we?" He asks.

"Some kind of 'break room'?" Sora says, registering an unsure tone. "I don't know. The Geremon brought us here."

"They…what?" Taichi asks, baffledly. "What's been going on?"

Sora puts a finger to her mouth, motioning towards a snoring Agumon. Taichi eyes his Digimon partner who twitches somewhat, but continues his nap.

"Where's Elecmon?" Taichi asks, lowering his voice.

"He's…elsewhere," Sora replies, glancing up at the door. "A lot has happened."

"Tell me."

"Well, after you passed out, we continued down the train tunnel for a while. Nothing seemed to be off until there was this rumbling—like an earthquake. Elecmon said it was Gran Locomon. A…train Digimon, if you can believe that. We were all nearly run over."

"Elecmon knew about it?" Taichi asks.

"He was…surprised," answers Sora, somewhat timidly. "But…yes, he knew about Gran Locomon."

"Seems like there's a lot that he knows…" Taichi remarks suspiciously.

"Well, that's…" Sora trails off, frustrated and unsure of what to say.

Taichi briefly inspects his right hand. The entire limb is as black as night, seeming to bend and absorb the light around it. His Digivice is still there, embedded within center of his palm. While the former pain is gone, he notes he can no longer feel any sensations whatsoever, like the entire limb had fallen asleep and could not be woken up.

"Is he responsible for _this_?" Taichi demands.

Sora is taken aback. "What?!" She gasps. "How can you even—"

Taichi lifts himself up very suddenly and brings himself to eye level with Sora.

"Think about it," he says angrily, "I wake up with a needle in my arm, Koromon is taken to some lab, and my Digivice is nowhere to be found. Next thing I know, Agumon goes savage, my Digivice reacts in a way I've never seen and then melts into my hand!" Taichi gets really close to her face and adds, "and my best friend can't even remember who I am!"

Sora's face turns sour. She turns away gets up, crossing her arms and heading towards the window. It's obvious to Taichi that she's trying to hold back some tears, but he pays this no mind, feeling he had every right to be angry with their current situation. Agumon shifts and stirs a bit, but continues snoring, deep in sleep.

"Sora," Taichi pleads, "tell me what you know. What's going on?" He then mentions the dream he had to Sora, trying to recollect the words he heard, but sparing some of the grittier details.

"I _really_ don't know, Taichi," She says, her voice trembling. "In fact, I probably know _less_ than you do at this point. But what I _do_ know is that Elecmon didn't do anything except _help_ you."

"He's hiding something," he asserts, "I want to know what it is."

Sora grits her teeth for a few seconds before she finally admits, "He…he was part of Etemon's operation."

"He what?!" Taichi gasps.

"I don't know exactly what he did," Sora replies. She turns around and gives Taichi a pleading look. "He just told me he was 'involved'. But that's all. He's ashamed of it, Taichi and he won't talk about it. Not even to me."

"And you trusted him?"

"I _had_ to!"

Taichi looks at Sora crossly, but is left unsure of what to say. She sighs, and combing her fingers through her hair. Taichi stares at her as she does so, somewhat mesmerized. For a moment, looking upon her without her helmet, he cannot help but think how pretty she is. Beautiful, even. Then, becoming bashful, he shakes his head slightly and looks away.

Sora returns to the bench, apparantly not having noticed Taichi's brief infatuation with her. Sitting beside him, she turns to folding her arms grumpily.

The pair of them don't speak to each other for another heavy stretch of time.

"I'm hungry," Sora says at length.

"Yeah," Taichi replies, "me too." He looks at the vending machines curiously.

"Already tried that," Sora says, guessing his thoughts. "Agumon pried them open earlier but they're completely empty. Elecmon said he'd try to find us something."

"Did he?" Taichi asks, "How long ago was that?"

"I don't know." She shrugs, "an hour, maybe?"

Neither one of them had any way of telling the time.

"He's very…reserved," Sora says, breaking another long moment of silence.

"Elecmon?" Taichi asks.

"Yeah," she replies.

"I think you mean 'secretive'," Taichi asserts.

Hesitantly, Sora admits, "Yes, alright, he's very _secretive_ ," then, hastily, she adds, "but he also risked his life for me-for _us_! Not to mention the Tsunomon…"

She proceeds to tell Taichi about what had happened after he fell into unconsciousness...

"…he leapt back onto the tracks to retrieve them, even when the train was coming. He was almost buried by all the Geremon. Lucky for him, I didn't follow his instructions."

"You went in after him?" Taichi asks in astonishment.

"Of course, I did!"

"You managed to save him, then?"

"Yes. Naturally, he yelled at me to save myself, but I couldn't just sit there and do nothing, y'know? Anyway, I managed to pull him out right before Gran Locomon hit us. We cut it pretty close. But something…strange happened afterwards…."

Taichi nods and motions for her to continue.

"My body started glowing, Taichi! It was the same as what had happened back when we were trying to get Koromon to wake up—only this time, much brighter."

Taichi ponders this and reaches into his shirt, pulling out his tag and Crest. Greymon's evolution was heralded by his Crest becoming illuminated. Given Sora had been bereft of both her Crest and Digivice, he puzzles over this strange phenomenon. How could she glow without it?

"I was wondering about that too," She says, guessing Taichi's thoughts. "You told me you started glowing right before Greymon evolved."

"My Crest seems to activate whenever…" Taichi trails off.

"Whenever you're being brave?" Sora suggests.

Taichi shrugs.

"Anyway," Sora continues, "The Geremon were all in awe of me. Which was...awkward..." She shudders, "but, whatever. Elecmon said they hated the light, but they were all…drawn to me. Like I was some kind of goddess."

"They didn't attack you?"

Sora shakes her head and giggles a bit, "they told me I was the most 'beautiful' thing they'd ever seen. Elecmon wouldn't let me live it down; but then he told me I should request to be brought before their leader."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he was completely serious."

"How would he have known...?"

"I'm getting to that. The Geremon lead us through a network of sewers beneath the facility. Lucky for us, we no longer needed Elecmon to zap the ceiling since I'd basically becoming a living flashlight."

"Were you still carrying me?"

"No, Elecmon took over. The Geremon offered, but Elecmon thought it best you were carried by a pair of arms and not…eyestalks."

Taichi suppresses a chuckle but Sora takes notice.

"See?" she says "He might have his secrets, but Elecmon has a kind heart."

"I guess…" Taichi admits, shrugging. "And how was Agumon doing?"

"He was…restless," Sora says tentatively. "He didn't overreact like before, but he definitely wasn't comfortable with the whole situation."

"Is he…okay?" Taichi asks pointedly. He looks over at his sleeping partner.

"He seems okay now, although his face was downcast most of the time." She then points at Taichi's blackened hand, adding, "I think he blames himself for what happened to you."

"He does?" A grave look crosses Taichi's face. "I need talk with him. He shouldn't be so hard on himself."

Taichi gets up, about to wake his partner, but Sora stops him.

"Elecmon gave him a bit of a pep talk along the way, trying to cheer him up. Let him sleep for now, he might need the energy later."

"Fair enough," Taichi says, sitting down again.

Sora peers at Agumon intently, watching thin trails of steam rise from the Digimon's nose as sleeps

"You know," she observes, "he's not so bad when he's not…y'know, trying to burn everything in sight."

Taichi chuckles a bit. However, his thoughts journey to the SkullGreymon incident and all the events leading up to it. Pangs of guilt prod him as he thinks about all the abuse he had put his partner through just to achieve that evolution.

"You know, Sora," he says, "you tried to stop me from making Greymon evolve that first time."

"I did?" She asks, looking at Taichi curiously. "You mean when he evolved into SkullGreymon?"

He nods, "I should have listened to you. You were right."

"I guess it's nice to know I have good instincts," She says, shrugging modestly. "But, surely I wasn't the only one, right? Someone else must have questioned you…"

"In fact, you were the only one who did…"

Suddenly, it dawns on him: the others had trusted him so implicitly that none of them sought to question his motives or his actions.

"Even when I was clearly wrong," Taichi realizes, "nobody else said or did anything."

"But you weren't 'clearly wrong' though, were you?"

"Huh?" Taichi looks at her inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's not like you could have _known_ Agumon would have evolved the wrong way, right?"

"I…" Taichi thinks for a moment.

"None of us really knew anything," Sora reminds him. "We _still_ don't! Especially me, since...you know," she taps her head. "But, from what you told me about our adventures before, you hadn't mislead us."

"Now that I think about it, I feel like I just got lucky all the time," Taichi says grumpily.

Sora shrugs, "well, doing anything in our position probably would have required some luck. You found Facility 009 in spite of the storm, Elecmon found me in the middle of the desert, we happened to find a breach in the wall of the train tunnel when we needed it, and we also found my Digivice-"

"You found it?"

Sora nods and continues her story from before. A bright smile appears on her face as she talks about the next part:

"The Geremon eventually brought us into a cavern deep underground. I thought I it would be frightening at first, but…it was beautiful! The walls were lined with these silver rocks that glittered as I passed by. The Geremon said it was pure platinum, and called the cavern a 'Platina Mine'. They said they hadn't ever seen it glow that way before. There were other Geremon there, plus some Numemon and Scumon too. They were fawning all over me."

"But...the Numemon..." Taichi obsverves. "You weren't bothered by the smell?"

"That's the thing," she explains, "they said the Platina Mine actively converts their…well, their poop into platinum." She wrinkles her nose, "I don't know how or why. I don't even _want_ to know, to be honest. But...that's just the way it works."

"Gross…" Taichi says in disgust.

"Very," Sora agrees, "but at least it didn't stink up the place.

"Anyway, as we continued, we arrived at a particularly large section of the cave with some kind of platinum reservoir in the middle. The room even the two platinum-coated Scumon guarding it. When, they asked us who we were, Elecmon said, 'Tell Platty that an old friend has come to visit'."

"He…what?" Taichi asks in befuddlement.

"I know, right?" she says "I was confused too. Elecmon never mentioned he knew anyone below the facility. But, he knew who their leader was."

"More secrets."

"Yeah..."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"I…" Sora doesn't say anything for a good long minute before finally admitting, "…yes. It bothers me."

She goes quiet again, staring into space, no doubt deep in thought.

"Well...?" Taichi asks, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" she replies.

"Did you meet him?"

"Huh?" Sora looks lost.

"'Platty'," Taichi says, "Did you meet him?"

"Oh!" She says, trying to find her place in her story. "Yes! Yes, we did! As it turned out, Platty was a Numemon—but very much unlike any of the others we saw. His skin was made of platinum and he had a pair of golden wings on his back-like some kind of angelic Numemon. He decorated himself with all kinds of jewelry too. Although, I have to say, none of this stuff improved his image much. He was still pretty much as ugly as any of the other Numemon." She shrugs, "Anyway, Elecmon told me to treat Platty like royalty."

"Do you know why Elecmon called him 'Platty'?"

"Some kind of nickname, maybe?" Sora shrugs. "I never got a chance to ask."

"What happened next?"

"So, Platty and Elecmon had a conversation. I didn't really understand most of it and for some reason, Platty kept calling Elecmon 'Rusty'."

"'Rusty'?" Taichi asks. "Is that another nickname?"

Sora shrugs again. "Platty even said something about how Elecmon was 'a lot smaller than when he remembered.' Elecmon actually insisted that he _not_ be called by *that name* anymore. He kept on giving me worried glances whenever Platty said it."

"Seems like I'll have quite a few questions to ask him," Taichi notes.

"I think we both will," Sora replies. "Elecmon also asked Platty what he knew about the return of the Metal Empire. Platty said he wasn't aware of anything. It didn't take me long to realize that Platty was really absent-minded. I don't think he was very smart. The only thing he did mention was how 'the Groundramon have begun digging again.' I didn't understand what that meant, but Elecmon said it was troubling. Sometime after that, I happened to notice that Platty was wearing Digivice around his neck."

"Was it yours?" Taichi asks.

"Yeah," she replies, "That's what I thought too. It was coated in platinum which is why I hadn't noticed it at first. When I drew attention to it and he told me that the Geremon had found it and brought it to him a while back. He refused to let me have it, though, and said he liked its 'bling' far too much to just give it away." She glances towards window and adds, "Elecmon is still negotiating with him."

"Why are we _here_ anyway?" Taichi gestures about the room. "Shouldn't we still be with him?"

"Well, when Elecmon showed Platty what had happened to your arm, he took one look at it and ordered us to leave."

"What? Why?"

"He wouldn't tell us. Elecmon seemed confused as well, but Platty said that you and Agumon would just bring unwanted attention."

"From whom?"

Sora shrugs, "he wouldn't give us a straight answer. He just wanted you guys gone as soon as possible. So, the Geremon brought us here."

"Any idea where 'here' is?"

"We're near some decommissioned train station. Only I guess that's not so true anymore, given Gran Locomon is using it now. But it exits through a nearby stairwell leading to the surface. We just have to wait for Elecmon and then we can be on our way."

"Yeah…" Taichi is left unsure of what to say next.

"We should question him," Sora suggests, "I've a lot of questions myself; about the Metal Empire, the D-Brigade, how he got his nickname, how he knows about PlatinumNumemeon…"

"Sora…I was thinking about what you said," Taichi says pensively.

"About what?"

"You said the others trusted me, even when they didn't know everything," Taichi reminds her. Taichi's eyes are set on Agumon as he says this, thinking about it deeply.

"Taichi…" Sora begins to say.

As if on cue, a latch clicks and the door to the room squeaks open. Agumon suddenly awakes and looks to Taichi and Sora.

"Taichi, you're awake! I'-" he begins to say. Then, noticing the door, he takes up a defensive position in front of the two humans.

"It's just me, rookie," Elecmon says, sidling inside. He looks at the other three and they at him for a few good minutes.

"Taichi, I…" Elecmon begins to say. However, he becomes tongue-tied. Very subtlety, Taichi notices that the fox is trembling. Almost as soon as Taichi notices this, however, Elecmon regains his bearing. For the first time, Taichi realizes the Digimon has a rather militant demeanor. Elecmon seemed to prefer to stand on his hind legs for the most part, even though he would walk around on all fours. Doing so made him look somewhat regal and important, as it the stance was well-practiced.

Taichi gets to his feet and asks him, "Did you get the Digivice?"

"Did I get the…? Oh!" Nervously, Elecmon fumbles around a bit and eventually produces the Digivice. "Here! Here it is!"

Taichi nods at Sora who reaches out to receive the Digivice.

"I…I had to pull a few favors," Elecmon explains, "but what matters is we got it back, right? Although I'm not sure what we're going to do about the platinum…"

Just then, as Sora's hand touches the item, the platinum cracks and shatters! The Digivice glows, shining brightly. Then, slowly, the light fades. Everyone stares at the it in bewilderment, wondering what just happened.

"That…that glow," Elecmon asks Sora, "That must mean it's yours, right?" Elecmon asks Sora.

"I...I guess so?" Sora replies. She glances at Taichi for answers, but he just shrugs. Sora then takes the Digivice and inspects it closely. "It looks like the metal is corroded a bit. I hope it still works."

"We won't know until we find Piyomon," Taichi asserts. He then looks at Elecmon. The red fox returns his gaze, setting his teeth on edge.

"Well done!" Taichi says at length, nodding at Elecmon respectfully. "So, what's next?"

The other three look at Taichi with bewilderment.

"Taichi, you're not going to—?" Sora whispers to him. However, Taichi lifts a hand up to her and shakes his head. He then addresses Elecmon again:

"Elecmon, whatever…secrets...that you're keeping from us, well…I just hope you have a good reason."

Elecmon doesn't say anything, but continues to look at Taichi in astonishment. Then, he turns his head away guiltily. Taichi approaches the red fox and kneels down, getting at eye level with him.

"Elecmon, I'm trusting you," Taichi says, placing his good hand on the Digimon's shoulder.

Elecmon turns and looks Taichi in the eyes. "I...Thank you, Taichi," he says.

Taichi nods in response and gets back to his feet.

His determination renewed, Elecmon rubs his chin thoughtfully and announces, "First thing's first. We need to get some food."

"Platty didn't have anything?" Sora asks.

"All they have down there is cave moss and algae," answers Elecmon. "And, considering they've been wriggling their slimy bodies over everything..." he sticks his tongue out in revulsion. "We're desperate; but we're not _that_ desperate."

"Eggs, Taichi!" Agumon suggests gleefully, "Let's try to find some eggs!"

"Hah!" Taichi says, smiling cheerfully at his partner. "If we're lucky, we'll find a fridge lying around like we did on File Island. Then, you can eat all the eggs you want."

Agumon jumps for joy, shouting, "Eggs! Eggs!"

The next moment, the four of them depart, ascending the stairwell leading to the surface. Elecmon leads the way and Taichi notices how exuberant he is, like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Sora, however, continues to look at Taichi perplexedly.

"What was _that_ about?!" She whispers to him, "weren't you going to question him?"

"It's like you said," he reminds her. "Nobody ever questioned me, but you all still followed me."

"That's…" Sora starts to say. However, she stops herself as she thinks about it. She nods soon after, but even so Taichi sees that she looks uneasy.

"He hasn't led us astray, has he?" Taichi asks.

Sora shakes her head.

"Then I think it's best that we continue to follow him."

However, as they continue upward, Taichi inquires, "I do have _one_ question for you, Elecmon."

"Oh?" Elecmon asks, "Just one?"

"Just one," Taichi says.

"Okay," Elecmon says, "I suppose one question wouldn't hurt."

"Your nickname," Taichi says, "Why were you called 'Rusty'?"

Elecmon looks at Taichi in disbelief. Eventually, to Taichi's surprise, the red fox begins to laughs out loud. Tacihi can only look at him quizzically. Had he said something funny?

"Are you sure you want _that_ to be your only question?" Elecmon asks him.

"...Yes?" Taichi says, unsure of himself now.

"Very well," Elecmon says in acquiescence. "So, you know about my nickname?" He then addresses Sora, "I assume you told him about Platty, then?"

Sora nods.

"So, 'Platty' is short for 'Platinum Numemon'" Elecmon explains.

"Yeah, I figured," says Taichi.

"As for 'Rusty,'" Elecmon clears his throat, "'Rusty' is short for 'Rust Tyranomon'."


	9. Muliplex City

"What do we do now?" Jyou says in despair. His knees buckle as he braces himself for the troopers marching down the asphalt road towards him and the others. The approaching soldiers are all armed and ready, aiming their rifles downwards towards the children.

"What are they?" asks Takeru.

"Commandramon," answers Tentomon. "Infantry Digimon equipped with M16 rifles and other combat gear."

"Rifles?!" Yamato remarks. "We need to take cover!"

The children and their Digimon take refuge behind some nearby rocks lining the side of the road. Yamato grits his teeth as he thinks through their best course of action. He shifts a bit uncomfortably as he carried Gabumon's unconscious body on his back. He peeks out at the Commandramon rushing to meet them and considers surrendering outright. Giving themselve up seems a rational choice to him-especially given the fact that they were the ones trespassing. Whomever resided in this city had every right to defend their territory from intruders. Even so, Yamato worries at the outcome of surrendering. Would these Commandramon be generous to them?

Just as Yamato is about to suggest they retreat, Jyou cries out: "The barrier! It's closed up!"

Yamato turns to look and, sure enough, the electrified barrier had reformed. They are now trapped them between the walls of the canyon and the road leading towards the oncoming threat. Yamato swallows a lump in his throat, but tries shaking off his fear as best he can. Facing down the Commandramon again, Yamato's mind races, trying to come up with something—anything—to get him and his friends out of this situation. Coming up short of alternatives, he is about to announce their unconditional surrender when Gabumon stirs and awakens.

"Yamato…?" Gabumon asks, trying to get his bearings. "What happened?"

"Gabumon," Yamato whispers to him, "can you evolve?"

"Can I…?" Gabumon begins to ask. Then, peering around, he spots the incoming Commandramon. "Oh!"

"Beyond Garurumon this time," says Yamato. "Can you do it?"

"There's one way we can find out," Gabumon replies confidently.

Removing himself from Yamato's back, Gabumon runs forward and evolves into Garurumon! Gomamon, and Tentomon follow, evolving intotheir respective Adult forms. Meanwhile, even Tokomon has joined the group, evolving into Patamon (much to Takeru's joy).

"Good luck!" Mimi shouts, having been left to cradle an exhausted Tanemon.

Digivices glow, evolutions are triggered, and the Commandramon halt, watching the spectacle in awe.

The two parties then watch each other expectantly. Slowly, approaches Garurumon's head and whispers into his ear, "Everyone else is relying on us, Garurumon."

The wolf nods in acknowledgement.

"Evolve, Garurumon!"

The wolf then howls as the light of Yamato's Crest glows.

"Garurumon, evolve!" the Digimon roars, now surrounded by a holy aura.

The aura expands, filling the area with bright blue light. All stand in awe as a Perfect evolution occurs, revealing-

"…WereGarururmon!"

The wolf bellows, taking stock of his new body. Yamto stares at his partner as well, noticing the rugged pants, an arm brace, and a menacing pair of a brass knuckles worn on either fist. From afar, the Commandramon react, shuffling about in fear at this new development.

"He's much stronger now," Kabuterimon says, commenting on the evolution. "WereGarurumon is a renowned combat tactician. Fiercely loyal and reliable too. He'll execute any task ordered by his master."

"As if _that_ wasn't ever the case before…" WereGarurumon says, giving Kabuterimon a sly grin. Then, to Yamato he says, "We did it, Yamato! I _knew_ we could!"

Yamato smiles back at him and then reset his sights on the Commandramon, now taking cover behind the rocks lining the asphalt road.

"Yamato, if you're going to do something, you'd better do it fast!" Koushiro urges him.

"I know Garurumon just evolved..." Jyou says, "But...maybe we can just...talk to them now?"

"Yes," Yamato says, taking a few brave steps forward, "Since we're intruding...we should avoid fighting, if possible."

Yamato is just about to call out to their adversaries when he feels WereGarurumon's hand upon his shoulder.

"Trouble," the wolf tells him, pointing at one particular Commandramon in the distance. Yamato looks, and sees the Digimon barking orders into some kind of radio device.

"What's he up to?"

"Calling in backup," WereGarurumon says, his ears twitching. He then lifts his head, looks about the surrounding canyon, sniffing.

"What is it?" Yamato's voice is fearful.

"I _smell_ something…" WereGarurumon bares his teeth.

Sweat begins to trickle down Yamato's face as an unknown threat invades their space.

Then, without warning, WereGarurumon performs a circle-kick! Surprisingly, the strike connects, revealing a camouflaged enemy. Its cover removed, a creature wearing is revealed! Yamato is left to behold an armored figure, reptilian, and readying a large combat knife.

"Sealsdramon!" Kabuterimon shouts. "They're stealthy assassins! Watch for his knife!"

The Sealsdramon then taps his goggles, whispering, "Scouter Monoeye…"

"Not a chance!" The wolf responds, leaping at his adversary and interrupting his scan. A knife is thrust, but WereGarurumon deftly turns the blade and follows through with a swift jab to the stomach. The Sealsdramon falls back, stunned, leaving WereGarurumon ti lift him Sealsdramon into the air by his throat Eagerly, the wolf begins to squeeze, watching gleefully as the armored reptile struggles in vain.

Yamato reacts immediately: "No! Let him go!"

WereGarurumon heeds his Yamato;s voice and glances at his partner questioningly, still holding the Sealsdramon at arm's length.

"They're not our enemies! Let him go."

Weregarurumon nods at Yamato respectfully, allowing his bloodthirst to subside.

But there, just as he loosens his grip upon his foe, another Sealsdramon attacks! Leaping from stealth, the armored assassin thrust a knife into the wolf's back, causing the mighty beast to howl in pain and anger. Meanwhile, the Sealsdramon he had apprehended crawl away in a coughing fit.

Desperately, Yamato leaps aside, falling to the ground rolling some distance away as WereGarurumon scuffles with this second Sealsdramon. Then, to Yamato's terror, several more Sealsdramon appear, jumping into the frey and attempting to subdue the mighty wolf.

"We're surrounded!" Ikkakumon shouts, firing several missiles at their adversaries.

Yamato glances about, witnessing more and more assassins join the attack. The situation is grim and Yamato doubts their prospects.

"Kabuterimon!" Yamato yells, "Get everyone else to safety!"

The great beetle acknowledges Yamato and gathers the other children up in his hands before taking flight. Yamato, WereGarurumon, Jyou, and Ikkakumon are left behind to deal with the onslaught. As Yamato watches Kabuterimon take flight, he feels a sudden tug on the back of his shirt and is hoisted upwards. Yamato cranes his neck around and and sees his captor-the Sealsdramon that WereGarurumon had released from his stranglehold only a few moments ago. This Sealsdramon coughs a few times, apparently still recovering from that encounter. Yamato swallows hard as the assassin raises a knife to his chest!

"Yamato! No!" WereGarurumon roars, trying his best to throw off the multitude of assassins crowding round. Many Sealsdramon are thrown aside, but more and more come to replace them. Yamato steals a glance at his partner and is horrified to see the assassins bear down on him. Whatever strength and resiliency offered to WereGarurumon is no match for the strength in numbers of the squad beset against him.

Now at the mercy of the first Sealsdramon, Yamato can only brace himself for the inevitable. He watches the knife draws inward. The tip of the blade barely touches the tag around Yamato's neck when, all of a sudden, his crest glows again! At this, the first Sealsdramon freezes, bedazzled by the device as it flickers, bathing him in blue light. At light's fade, the first Sealsdramon drops his weapon, left staring at Yamato. Yamato can only glance back, unable to determine this Digimon's masked features.

"You...you called him off...?" Says the first Sealsdramon.

"Wha...?" Yamato says in befuddlement. His ears are ringing and he almost feels as if he will faint.

"Why?!" Demands the Sealsdramon, tightening his grip on Yamato's shirt. "Why did you tell him to release me!?"

Fearfully, Yamato recovers his wits and manages to reply, "We..we're not here to fight!"

The first Sealsdramon cocks his head to the side, seemingly perplexed while Yamato's face remains painted with fear mixed with confusion. The first Sealsdramon then looks to his comrades, still engaged in combat with WereGarurumon and Ikkakumon. In the air, a good distance from the commotion, Kabuterimon hovers, safe for the moment but unable to escape.

"This...this isn't right..." says the first Sealsdramon, visibly shaken as he takes in the spectacle about him.

Yamato looks at the Digimon questioningly. The would-be assassin shakes his head vigorously before turning his attention back to Yamato:

"Will you surrender to us?"

"...What?" Asks Yamato. He couldn't quite understand this development.

"Surrender to us!" The Sealsdramon insists "It's the only way you'll ensure your survival!"

Desperately, Yamato looks over at his partner. There, Weregarurumon lies beaten, bruised, slashed, and stabbed. Yamato had never seen him such a state, evolved or no, and his heart immediately goes out to him. The other Sealsdramon close in on their prey, preparing to kill them. Without further hesitation, Yamato nods emphatically at his would-be assassin:

"Yes, yes!" He says, "We _will_ surrender!"

"Very well!" the first Sealsdramon replies. He then approaches his comrades:

"Stop!" He commands, lifting a hand into the air.

To Yamato's amazement, the other Sealsdramon stay their hands and all face the first Sealsdramon.

"Chief!" They respond, almost in unison. Their timing is amazing, falling in line almost immediately following such a simple gesture.

"These are the children of the prophecy!" the first-or, more appropriately-the "Chief" Sealsdramon announces, "The Chosen Children!"

At first, the other Sealsdramon don't respond but, instead, take to looking at each other, as if in confusion. The Chief Sealsdramon then shows Yamato to them, holding him Yamato out like a stuffed toy:

"Don't you understand?! They are not here to fight us!" He motions to Yamato, "This one has just agreed to surrender!"

Yamato blushes and turns away in embarrassment, quite averse to being "presented" to these other Digimon in this manner. Again, the other Sealsdramon exchange looks of confusion. Seemingly exasperated, the Chief Sealsdramon draws Yamato back to him and addresses him once more:

"Do you command _that_ Digimon?" He asks, pointing at WereGarurumon.

"I...Yes!" Yamato replies, "Yes! He's my partner."

"'Part...ner'?" the first Sealsdramon replies, as if using the word for the very first time. "Very well! Order him to reverse his evolution." Then, pointing at Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon, he adds, "Order the others to do the same."

Yamato does as he is told and nods in confirmation to his partner. WereGarurumon gives Yamato a pained look, but nods back in compliance. The next moment, the Perfect-level Digimon reverts his evolution, becoming the baby Tsunomon. Ikkakumon does the same, reverting back to Gomamon. Following that, Kabuterimon is signaled to return and he does so, safely depositing the other children upon the ground before reverting back to Tentomon.

Satisfied, the Chief Sealsdramon releases Yamato, allowing him to recover his partner and rejoin the other children.

"What's this all about, Chief?" asks another of the Sealsdramon

"I...I don't..." the Chief Sealsdramon replies, still shaking his head woozily. "I was...going to kill him..."

"Chief?" The other asks again.

"I'm fine!" The Chief Sealsdramon says, trying to reassert himself, "Everything is...fine! Now, attend to the intruders. We'll be bringing them into the city."

"Roger that!" The other replies.

* * *

Sometime later, the Commandramon are signaled to move in and the children and their partners are left to the mercy of their newest adversaries. Their captors show some initiative by taking their Digivices away. Koushiro's laptop is also confiscated and his reaction is of utter devastation. Nevertheless, he is made to deal with it.

"Ensure no harm comes to them, Sergeant," the Chief Sealsdramon orders one of the lead Commandramon. Then, oddly, the first Sealsdramon adds, "I...would like to have correspondence with _that one_ in the future."

"Chief?" The Sergeant asks.

"It's not your concern," the Chief Sealsdramon replies defensively, "and I would advise you do not damage him."

"I...Roger that, Chief,"

Although no gesture is made by the Chief Sealsdramon, Yamato feels instinctively as if he were referring directly to _him_ in that conversation. But why? Yamato could only guess that his crest had something to do with it.

Yamato is unable to ask the Chief Sealsdramon any questions, however. The Sealsdramon depart and fade from sight, almost as quickly as they had appeared. At that, the Commandramon then, rather roughly, push their captives fowards, taking them deeper into the city.

"Stay within our formation," barks the lead Commandramon, "and don't fall behind!"

"Where are you taking us?" Yamato demands.

The lead Commandramon grabs Yamato by his shirt, bringing him to eye level. "We have no obligation to answer you, Chosen Child!" He responds defiantly. Yamato's Crest dangles loosely from his neck, its glint catching the reptile's eye. He looks at it for second, and his featuring soften a bit. Then, he releases Yamato's shirt and shakes his head, "Chosen or no, you have no authority here!"

"You know about the prophecy, then?" Mimi asks.

"He said, no questions!" snarls another Commandramon, looking at Mimi menacingly. Mimi's face scrunches up and Yamato fears she's about to cry. However, to his relief, she keeps her cool, resigning herself to marching along with them.

* * *

The canyon road they walk upon eventually leads into a wide-open metropolitan area. High-rising buildgins a featured amidst the land, separated by intersecting streets. The children are particularly reminded of Tokyo as they traverse this new territory. Plant-life is scarce, however, and the scenery is laden with sense bleakness given the greyness overwhelming everything else. The colorlessness of the buildings is complimented by the clouds amassed in the heavens above, shading the city from sunlight. Despite the presence of clouds, no rain falls, but thunder roils overhead every few minutes.

Yamato is keep to spot two large shapes flying overhead as he looks about the sky. Temtomon looks as well and identifies them as Gigadramon and Megadramon—cybernetic flying serpents. Their watchful presence fills the children with a sense of dread and Yamato thinks that perhaps they were the watchers the Sealsdramon were talking about. In spite of their fear, the children march on under the steady gaze of the Commandramon.

Although largely reminiscent of the real world, the city is entirely sparse of any motor vehicles. The city's variety of inhabitants are seemingly content to walk every the need to go. Indeed, along the sidewalks, various Digimon are going about their day, although many stop to witness the strange procession of human children being led down the street. The partner Digimon are keen to identify every new Digimon for the children, but before long they earn themselves the irate glare of the Commandramon and are silent once again.

Minutes go by heavily-to the extent the children can almost _feel_ themselves being weighed down by sheer anticipation. Yamato imagines they're going to be taken to a dark dungeon of some kind, left to sit behind iron bars for a long period of time while these Digimon figure out what to do with them. However, the procession comes to eventual halt when several iron-bound juggernauts appear, marching along the street and headed in the opposite direction.

"They're Guardromon," Tentomon whispers, describing them to Koushiro.

The ironclad robots stand stoically in the middle of the street, holding their arms out, palms facing out like policemen stopping traffic. The lead Commandramon grumbles to himself and steps forward as the two parties meet.

"What's going on here?" He demands. "Move aside!"

"With respect, Sergeant," answers a stern voice, "we will _not_."

From amidst the Guardromon, another Digimon approaches. The children are all agape when they watch this majestic, dangerous-looking creature appear. She's a centaur, but cybernetic, almost entirely covered by a protective suit. Adorning her head is a red combat helmet and a gas mask covers her face. However the children are truly impressed by her arms which are both gatling guns from the elbows down. Moreover, as if she needed the extra firepower, two additional rifles can be seen upon her upper back.

"Assaultmon!" says the lead Commandramon in surprise. "What's the meaning of this?"

"His Majesty has declared this a city affair, Sergeant," Assaultmon answers him matter-of-factly. Her voice is calm, and resounds mechanically through her mask, lending a sense of gentility to otherwise robust exterior. "I commend the D-Brigade's swift action in apprehending these…" she motions towards the children "...'intruders.' But I'll be taking them off your hands now."

"On _whose_ authority?" the lead Commandramon demands.

"His Majesty himself," Assaultmon replies. She then leans in a bit closer to the Sergeant, bullets in her eyes, adding, "…and he's of a mind to berate you and your superiors for having gone over his head. Again."

The lead Commandramon's eyes go wide with rage. His rifle grip stiffens but he maintains his bearing, eventually nodding in confirmation.

"Roger that," he says and proceeds to order his soldiers to release the captives.

"The children will come with me, Sergeant," Assaultmon tells him, "Their Digimon are to be quarantined at Site 64 for the time being. Ensure they are unharmed."

"The Residential District?!" the Sergeant asks incredulously.

"Is there a problem, Sergeant?" Assaultmon says, raising her voice slightly and glowering at him.

He scowls, but responds with, "No sir…no problem."

"Very well then, Sergeant. When you get there, you are to leave all the items you've confiscated with Pandamon. After that, you are to return to your duties."

"Roger that!"

The lead Commandramon forces a salute and prepares to separate the children from their Digimon partners.

"Tanemon, no!" Mimi protests as one of the Commandramon attempts to pry her partner from her arms. The Commandramon growls at her, raising the butt of his rifle. However, Assaultmon intervenes, stomping her foot down and startling him.

"There's no need for that!" Assaultmon says. The Commandramon backs off as Assaultmon kneels down and addresses Mimi. "Hello, child," She says, firmly but also somewhat gently.

Mimi lifts her head, her face a mixed expression of anger and despondence.

"Rest easy, Chosen Child," Assaultmon says, "No harm will come to any of your Digimon…" Assaultmon glances threateningly at the Commandramon and adds, "…Is that clear?"

"As crystal, sir," says the Sergeant.

Grumpily, Mimi allows the soldier to take Tanemon from her.

"Be gentle with her," she tells him, "or you'll be sorry!"

The soldier raises an eyebrow.

"I mean it!" Mimi says, doubling down, "I don't care about you...guns or your knives or...or whatever else you have!" She stomps her foot, "I'll make you pay for it if Tanemon is harmed in any way!"

Mimi gives the Commandramon a look so threatening that he actually draws away in shock. Then, after nodding at Mimi profusely, he rushes to join the rest of his squad.

"That was...impressive," Assaultmon compliments Mimi as the Commandramon depart.

"They're a bunch of jerks!" Mimi says, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Yes, well...It comes with the territory," Assaultmon says, shrugging. Then, bending her head closer to Mimi, she asks, "Tell me, Chosen Child, are you the leader of your group?"

"Me?!" Mimi asks, taken aback. Meanwhile, Yamato shuffles his feet in embarassment.

Shaking her head Mimi says, "No, Taichi—" then, quickly catching herself, "—I mean, _Yamato_ is our leader." She points to him.

Assaultmon turns to Yamato and approaches him. Yamato regards her as sternly as he can in spite of his nervousness.

"Yamato, then?" Assaultmon asks.

Yamato nods and issues a quick, "Yes!" before his face becomes even more flushed.

"Very well," Assaultmon says, bowing her head slightly, "I oblige you to keep a close eye on your companions while you're all here. You cannot count all as friends or friendly."

"So we've seen," Yamato replies, referring to the Commandramon.

"Yes, indeed. The Commandramon are stern, but they...they mean well." She replies. There' hesitancy in Assaultmon's voice. Regardless, she continues: "You can count yourself fortunate they were the ones whom you first encountered and not any of the city's rabble," she responds. "Also, try to a be a bit more respectful when talking about them. The Commandramon and especially the Sealsdramon are hardened veterans. We owe them much. As I said before they…they _mean_ well...even if they don't show it."

Yamato nods.

Then, addressing all the children, Assaultmon gives a greeting: "Welcome to Multiplex Metropolis, Chosen Children. I am Assaultmon, preeminent peacekeeper and defender of this great city!"

At Assaultmon's request, each of the rest of the Chosen Children introduce themselves. Initially put off by the Digimon's impressive arsenal, the children are set far more at ease.

"You're a lot nicer than those Commandramon," Takeru compliments her, smiling cheerfully.

"Do not confuse my politeness with 'niceness', child," Assaultmon warns. "If you ever earn my ire, I daresay you would prefer the Commandramon over me." She then beckons them to follow her, "Let us not tarry. His Majesty wishes to see you."

The children do as they're told, still a bit set off by their current situation but glad at least to be able to speak without being told to shut up. Keeping in toe with their new host, the children are led in an entirely different direction than before. The Guardromon flank them as they walk, much to Mimi's frustration.

"Why is everyone so uptight?" Mimi asks. "We were just looking for shelter."

"Uptight?" answers Assaultmon, seemingly offended. "There are protocols that must be abide by. The D-Brigade have a duty to the city that they're bound to fulfill, as do I."

"The D-Brigade?" Koushiro asks. "What's that?"

"They are the backbone of the imperial army, of course," Assaultmon explains. "Commandramon, Sealsdramon, and Tankdramon. Soldiers, special forces, and heavy artillery."

"How many of them are there?" Jyou asks.

"Why do you ask?" Assaultmon replies, looking at him suspiciously.

"Err…just curious I guess…" Jyou tries avoiding her stare and timidly twiddles his fingers.

"Why the barrier around the city?" Yamato asks, trying to change the subject, "and why the clouds? Who are you trying to keep out?"

"Anyone not affiliated with the Metal Empire," answers Assautmon. Shrugging she adds, "and, technically, that includes you too, regardless of the circumstances." There's a pang of guilt inflicting Assaultmon's voice. However, somewhat uplifting, she adds, "Feel fortunate! For you are the first humans ever to set foot in Multiplex Metropolis!"

"We also keep on hearing about the 'Metal Empire'," Koushiro mentions, "What exactly _is_ the Metal Empire?"

"You...you know _nothing_ of the empire?" Assaultmon asks in astonishment.

Koushiro and the others shake their heads, almost in unison, in response.

"Well..." Assaultmon says, pondering. "I'm afraid _that_ topic will require far more deliberation than I can give at this time. And, besides, I'm just a glorified protector, not an historian. You'll probably want to ask His Majesty about it when you meet him."

"Who is 'His Majesty' anyway?" Mimi asks.

"You'll meet him soon," Assaultmon replies.

The children follow Assaultmon down many city blocks before eventually arriving at a park-like region about which many structures are located. Unlike the jungle of steel and concrete surrounding them before, trees, grass other plants adorn this particular site, adding some vibrancy to all the grey. The buildings faceted throughout the area are also made of brick, stone, and mortar.

"It's like the Imperial Palace!" Mimi remarks, eyes sparkling as she clasping her hands together joyfully.

"Do you know of this place?" Assaultmon asks her.

Mimi shakes her head, "No; I just noticed it looks a lot like someplace back...back home."

"Oh?" Assaultmon says. "In your world?"

"Yes, in Japan," Mimi answers.

"It's not… _that_ much of a resemblance," Jyou says, adjusting his glasses and looking about the area uncomfortably.

"Well, this is _our_ Imperial Palace," Assaultmon announces, bowing her head proudly. "Again, feel fortunate! You're the first humans to set foot here."

She then leads them to a large iron bridge, beneath which a moat of water runs placidly. At the other end of the bridge stands a gate guarded by two Digimon. Like Assaultmon, these Digimon are like centaurs, one in black armor and one in white. Their armor is medieval in fashion and both are armed with large needle-like lances. Assaultmon proceeds to introduce them:

"These are the Knights Chessmon," she says, nodding at them respectfully. They return the gesture.

"And who are they?" Ask the knights, gesturing to the children.

"The Chosen Children," Assaultmon replies, "as per His Majesty's request."

The two knights survey the children, exchange glances with each other, and then look back at Assaultmon.

"So, the Children have arrived at last," says the black knight.

"In accordance with what was long forecast," adds the white knight.

"Affirmative," answers Assaultmon, "His Majesty wishes to see them at once."

"Aye, it shall be done," the knights say in unison.

The children then are handed over to the knights. Assaultmon gives the children one final warning to behave; but also encourages them to stay in contact if they are ever in need of her protection. Then, bidding them adieu, Assaultmon returns to her duties.

"I liked her," Takeru says thoughtfully.

"Yeah, she was pretty cool," Mimi agrees, "but I wonder…how does she eat with those arms?"

* * *

From the gate, the children are led by the Knights Chessmon through the palace grounds. The area is lush, laden with grass, trees and flowers. The sound of running water lends a sense of peach and solace to the scenery. Moreover, the children notice the clouds surrounding the city are drawn apart in this district, revealing a dusky sky.

Various Digimon are found within the palace grounds. Some are guards—more chess-like Digimon standing guard duty. However, a greater variety casually walk about or are talking with each other. Kouhsiro anxiously wishes Tentomon were here to identify the city's inhabitants.

"Who are all these Digimon?" Koushiro asks.

"Ambassadors and emissaries…" says the white knight.

"Local and foreign dignitaries…" adds the black knight. "Some you will meet in due time."

"Indeed," says the white knight, "it seems all our fates are intertwined."

"...'due time'...'intertwined'..." Mimi murmurs to herself. "Those rhyme!" She says in realization. "Did you guys rehearse that?"

"We...we did not," the white knight objects. "It is only a coincidence."

"Admittedly," says the black knight, "we sometimes rhyme by accident."

"...'coincidence'...'accident'..." Mimi says the two words to herself a few times. Then, giggling, she says, "You did it again!"

"What do you mean by 'all our fates are intertwined'?" Yamato asks, trying to change the subject.

"Please address all your questions to His Majesty," says the white knight.

"...or The Grand Emanations," adds the black Knight.

And so, the children are left silent once again.

Eventually, after crossing through a large brush of trees, they reach the Imperial Mansion, hidden within the center of the palace grounds. The children gaze at it in awe-a great two-story building widely spread out, its architecture is Romanesque, featuring large columns and round arches. Yamato wonders why he hadn't seen it before given its immensity. The Knights Chessmon bring the children to a short flight of stairs leading to pair of large double-doors.

"This is as far as we guide," says the black knight as they reach the foot of the stairs.

"Do not tarry," urges the white knight. "His Majesty awaits inside."

At that, the knights take their leave.

There, the children remain for a good long time, giving each other looks that basically amount to "what do we do now?". They then take to staring at mansion's entrance nervously. Without warning, the doors automatically creak open, causing them to jump back in shock. The doors swing widely, allowing passage inside. Even so, the children still hesitate, quite unsure of themselves. Takeru runs to Yamato, huddling close.

"I'm scared, Big Brother," Takeru says.

Yamato places a reassuring hand on his brother's head.

"I don't think we have any other choice…" says Jyou.

"Well…," Mimi replies, trying to sound determined, "This _is_ what we wanted all along...right?"

"But we don't have our Digimon with us," Koushiro says apprehensively.

"Right…" Yamato agrees. Taking Takeri by the hand, he tentatively takes a few steps forward. Then, to Yamato's surprise, Mimi offers to take his other hand, giving him a smile of encouragement.

"Mimi?" Yamato asks.

"We're a team;" she says, "we should all go in together."

Yamato doesn't answer, but soon smiles and nods at her, taking her hand. Koushiro and Jyou join in as well, taking Mimi and Takeru's free hands. At that moment, Yamato feels the weight of his fear lessen immensly. Knowing his friends are there at either side, he releases his tension which casues his crest to glows with its familiar blue light. Then, as if in response, Mimi's crest glows, shining a bright emerald green. Yamato looks at Mimi and sees a look of keen determination on her face as they move forward. It dawns on Yamato just how confident Mimi had become in the past few days. The loss of Taichi and Sora had hurt them immensely, but had also inspired them to become much stronger and more confident as a result.

"Everyone," Yamato says, looking about at his friends, "I want you to know that…whatever lies in store for us ahead. I'm glad to have you all with me."

The rest of them nod at him in agreement and Mimi gives his hand a gentle squeeze in gratitude. Then, hand-in-hand and heads held high, they enter the mansion.


	10. Drenched Edge

"You're…who?!" Sora asks frustratedly. She stops in her tracks, standing in the middle of the ascending stairwell.

Taichi, Agumon, and Elecmon look back at Sora and then at each other with a mix of expressions. Sora crosses her arms, regarding Elecmon sternly. Indeed, Taichi had allowed Elecmon his secrets and had assumed their journey would have been free of any further drama. He glances up the stairwell, desperate to see the light of day again. Yet, he admits to himself that he had forgotten Sora's feelings on the matter of Elecmon's secrecy. Taichi had assumed Sora would hold herself back for his sake, but apparently this is not the case. A thought hits Taichi like a brick: the relationship that Sora and Elecmon had built within the few months they spent with each other was a bond that he hadn't even begun to understand. After all, he had only been with them for at least a day. In three months' time, what kinds of conversations had they had with each other? How much does Sora actually know about Elecmon or about whatever Elecmon knows about the Digital World? Taichi swallows a lump in his throat but doesn't say anything to mitigate whatever tension is brewing between Sora and Elecmon.

"What is a 'Rust Tyranomon' anyway?" Sora demands, quickly adding, "and more importantly, why did you keep this from me?!"

Elecmon tries his best to remain composed, but Taichi sees him shuddering a bit beneath the mask. Clearing his throat, the red fox tries to answer: "I wasn't keeping this from you, Sora…I, uh…" his former determination faulters as he fumbles for his words. Taichi notes that Elecmon's body language, although somewhat foreign to him, is still remarkably…human, for lack of a better term. Finding his words, Elecmon continues: "Sora, I…what I mean, is, _I_ didn't even know who…or _what_ I was until after I met up with Platinum Numemon…" He scratches chin contemplatively and adds, "…or, at least…I didn't _know_ I knew…"

"You…what?" Sora says, her sternness giving way to confusion. "You 'didn't know you knew'?! How could you not—"

" _I don't know_!" Elecmon says, exasperatedly but somewhat pleadingly.

Sora doesn't reply, but keeps her arms crossed and her face frowning. Meanwhile, Elecmon takes a deep breath, all the while attempting to maintain his regular resolve:

"It's like…" he says, sighing and scratching his chin, scouring his brain. Then, his eyes light up: "It's like _your memories_ , Sora!"

"My memories?" she asks.

"Yes!" Elecmon says, "or, what I mean is…your _lack_ of memories?"

What he means as a statement, Elecmon turns into a question. He winces, knowing full well how incoherent he sounds.

"Are you saying you have amnesia too?" Taichi suggests.

"No…not exactly," Elecmon replies. "The problem is I…I don't know if there's a word for it. There's just something…there."

"Oh, _come on_!" Sora says in blatant frustration.

Taichi stares at Sora in surprise, not at all expecting this kind of behavior from her. To him, it all seems like an overreaction.

"He _always_ does this, Taichi," Sora says, noticing Taichi's stare. "Whenever it comes to explaining _anything_ , Elecmon just stutters and talks nonsense."

There's a harshness to Sora's tone, something else that he isn't at all used to when it comes to her. Had her personality drifted so far from what it was before?

"That's not fair, Sora!" Elecmon interjects. "It's a Digimon thing—"

"Oh, it's a 'Digimon' thing," Sora mocks him, performing air quotes with her fingers. "You _always_ say that. But now you just let it slip that you're this 'Rust Tyranomon' and we're supposed to just shrug and let that go?"

Taichi opens his mouth and tries get a word in edgewise, but Elecmon responds first:

"Honestly, Sora-like I told you, I didn't know anything until I spoke with Platinum Numemon. You've _got_ to believe me! Things are only _just now_ becoming clear, but I…I don't really know how to explain it all right now. It really is a…a Digimon thing…"

" _That's not good enough_!" Sora says, almost shouting.

Elecmon winces and his ears droop, unsure of how to respond.

"…He is right, Sora," Agumon says, somewhat timidly.

Sora's features soften a bit as she regards Agumon with a curious expression. "What?" She asks.

"I think I can explain it to you," Agumon replies. "But first…" he approaches Sora anxiously and, trembling, extends a paw out to her. "I…I wanted to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" Sora asks, taken completely off guard by Agumon's gesture. "For what?"

"For what I did back at the bunker…" Agumon shuffles his feet awkwardly. "I'm not like that! Honest!"

Taichi looks in awe at his partner and allows himself a proud smile. He himself had worried about Sora's perception of Agumon since the incident at the bunker, but never would he have expected Agumon to be the one to initiate reparations.

 _Way to go, Agumon!_ Taichi thinks to himself.

Sora hesitates for a moment before allowing herself to smile at Agumon. Kneeling down she takes Agumon's paw and squeezes it gently. "You're forgiven, Agumon," she says.

Agumon grins happily.

"But, continue with what you were saying," Sora requests.

"Of course!" Agumon says. Glancing over his shoulder at Taichi, he says, "if there's anything I know it's that, while we have a lot in common, Digimon and Chosen Children are still very different from each other."

"Oh?" Sora replies, getting back to her feet and putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah…" Agumon observes Elecmon, "I think what Elecmon was trying to say is that…we know things, but…then we forget them."

Sora cocks her head the side, still confused.

"Can you be more specific, Agumon?" Taichi asks.

"Yeah, so…" Agumon thinks for a moment, "…when I evolve into Metal Greymon, I just _know_ things I didn't know before. I'm able to look at the world differently. Like when I was with Taichi in the desert, I was able to scan the dying Tyranomon with my visor. Also when I blew up Etemon, I shot my Giga Destroyer at him," proudly, he pats himself on the chest. "Thinking about now, It doesn't make sense to me now how I knew I could do all that. But when I was evolved I just, somehow, _knew_ I could shoot rockets from my body and scan things and…that's how that works, I guess…"

Nobody says anything for the next few moments. Then, slowly, Sora nods at Agumona and turns back to Elecmon. "Is that how it is with you?"

"Uh...I mean, it _sounds_ good?" Elecmon says with a shrug.

Sora's face becomes stern again, filling with rage. Just as she is about to respond, however, she is interrupted by a deep rumbling overhead. Tiny bits of rubble fall from the roof, surprising the four of them.

"Hurry!" Elecmon says, motioning the others up the stairs, "We can continue this later; for now, we need to get to higher ground."

Instinctively, the rest of them follow behind.

As they draw near the surface, Taichi feels an abrupt change in the atmosphere. He and Sora each begin taking deeper breaths as the thickness of the air increases, almost becoming humid. Before long, the group reaches the canopied entrance of the subway station where the distinct droll of raindrops is heard. Taichi had expected, or rather hoped the blinding light of day would meet them; but, to his dismay, a heavy bank of dark clouds covers the sky above. At random intervals, thunder roils through the clouds as the rain keeps up. The four of them reach the edge of the canopy, watching hesitantly as whole buckets of water fall about them. Examining his surroundings, Taichi can see they're within some kind of metropolis. Large buildings are gathered about them, set apart by block formation and further separated by various streets or two-lane roads.

"Where are we?" Taichi asks.

"Multiplex Metropolis," Elecmon says. "I don't much care for the rain, but at least it's the perfect cover for—"

An echoing rumble of some far-off explosion is heard, followed by the distant sounds of gunfire. Instinctively, the four companions hit the ground, fearing some bombardment. To their relief, however, no attack comes.

"More D-Brigade?" Sora asks.

"Most likely," Elecmon replies, all the while trying to focuses his attention on his current surroundings. "Doesn't seem to be anyone here. I'd guess they're pretty far from us. Still, we shouldn't stay around too much longer in case they come this way."

As they survey the area, Taich can see that many of the structures are covered in all manner of green foliage. Trees pop out of the ground in various locations as well throughout the asphalt as if a forest had begun to sprout up within the city over a long period of time. Despite this, the buildings themselves do not lend themselves to a sense of inattention. In fact, Taichi considers the opposite of his original assumption—perhaps these buildings had grown from underneath the forest itself much like the phonebooths, poles, and signposts scattered about File Island.

"We seem to be in a good postion to move," Elecmon says after his brief observation. "If my bearings are correct, we should be able to cross the edge without drawing any attention to ourselves. But we have to keep moving."

"What's that?" Taichi asks.

"What's what, now?" Elecmon replies somewhat distractedly.

"The 'edge' you just mentioned."

"The boundary between the Central City and the Scuzzy District." Elecmon's reply is straightforward and matter-of-fact, yet the other three simply look back at him, puzzled. Elecmo rolls his eyes in frustration, "Look, I can't sit here and explain every single detail to you guys, can I? No, not while the Empire is searching for us." Then, to Taichi he says, "You said you would trust me, right?"

Taichi nods.

"Then, _trust me_!"

Without another word, Elecmon darts out into the storm. Taichi follows close behind, more as a reaction than anything else, and almost immediately Agumon and Sora are at his tail. Whatever sense of urgency drives Elecmon had spread among the rest of them as they head onwards into the rain-filled unknown.

* * *

The strange city/jungle amalgam stretches on, seemingly, without end. For the most part, Elecmon's path of progression heads in one particular direction, taking various digressions at his discretion. At best, Elecmon elects to take paths where an overhead or awning on a nearby building would offer them cover from the rain, but Taichi cannot discern Elecmon's method of decision-making as it concerns their navigations. Nevertheless, not a word is spoken among them. The time of day is impossible determine, in part due the clouds overhead but also due the sun's current immobility. For whatever reason, the inability to determine the time is what sets Taichi at his more extreme discomfort. At a particular length of their journey, Sora suggests they find shelter and take a breather. Elecmon refuses but doesn't give a reason. Nobody asks him why but all are naturally curious.

As they continue on, Taichi cannot help but notice that the surrounding vegetation is slowly increasing in density. The greenery seems to coat most of everything in sight. Treese, vines, grass, and moss cover the building and jut out in every crevice about the road and the sidewalk. Aside from all the plant life, however, not a single Digimon is sighted by any of them. The area seems completely forsaken but Taichi cannot dismiss the uncomfortable feeling that he and the others are being watched from afar. Taichi inspects the area about him as he follows Elecmon's course. Many of the windows of the surrounding buildings render their interiors invisible from outside eyes. For the ones Taichi can see through, he is unable to make out anything lifelike. Even so, at some intervals, he notices brief flits of movement and vague shadows disappearing from some of the windows as they draw nearer to them.

"Do Digimon live here?" Taichi asks.

"Yes," Elecmon replies.

"Will they hurt us?"

"I don't know."

Elecmon is terse, as per usual.

Although he had promised he wouldn't question Elecmon any further, the space of time is begging to be filled by anything other than their silent progress. As they move on, Taichi takes a moment to look down at his blackened arm and the Digivice embedded within it. A wave of anxiety hits him and he begins to speak:

"So…Elecmon," he says "how, uh…how do we get you to remember who you are?"

"Huh?" Elecmon says, still trying to maintain focus.

"From what you and Agumon were saying," Taichi explains, "you need to figure out who you are. Regain your memories or something like that, right?"

Elecmon regards Taichi with mild annoyance, "It's not really about regaining memories, Taichi." He moves forward without saying anything anything else. Then, when they come to another brief halt, Sora pipes up:

"If you evolve," she suggests, "do you think that will make things clear?"

"I…" Elecmon says, still trying to concentrate. "Maybe."

"What I don't understand…" Sora says, somewhat stubbornly, "Is that, if you've never evolved, how do know you're Rust Tyranomon?"

"Platinum Numemon confirmed it," Elecmon says. "When he said so, it was like…I _knew_ it was true…"

"Elecmon," Agumon asks. "Is it possible you died?"

Taichi and Sora both react in equal surprise, doubled when Elecmon answers:

"That _is_ something I've considered…"

"Died?" Sora asks. "But you're…you're not…?"

"Hmm?" Elecmon asks in confusion. "I'm not what?"

"I mean, you seem pretty alive to me, Elecmon," Taichi says.

"Well, sure," Elecmon says, "What's that go to do with—" he stops in his tracks and regarding Taichia and Sora with great befuddlement. "Wait…have _you_ ever died before?"

Taichi and Sora exchange puzzled glances before turning their attention back to Elecmon, shaking their heads in unison. Elecmon's eyes go wide. Even as the rain falls, all he can do for a few moments is stare at Taichi and Sora.

"What is it?" Sora asks. "What's going on, Elecmon?"

Before Elecmon can reply, thunder rolls in the distance, and he forces them to move on.

They go on for some time before finding a quick bout of shelter within the canopy of a bus stop. As they rest for a moment, Elecmon continues where he left off, "Sora, when we die, our data is dissimilated and reconstituted on File Island." He looks at Agumon and mentions, "Agumon made a good point: I might have died at some point in time and therefore would have no memory of my previous incarnation."

"Previous incarnation?" Taichi asks.

"Indeed," Elecmon replies, "Assuming I died, my data—my essence—would remain the same. This body," Elecmon points at himself, "would be a _newly_ reconstituted body. So, same essence but in a new body. So, it's possible that the essence of 'Rusty' is here, inside me, but my body is new."

"Are you saying a reborn Digimon is a _new_ Digimon?" Taichi asks.

Gravely, Elecmon nods, "the Angemon you mentioned who died at File Island? He is gone forever, Taichi. His essence remains and was reborn, but the Digimon who he was is gone forever."

Taichi can do nothing at the moment but stare at Elecmon with disbelief.

"I had assumed Chosen Children worked the same way," Elecmon says, shifting his gaze back and forth between Taichi and Sora. "Is this _not_ the case?"

"No," Taichi's reply is tense, "there is no Village of Beginnings in the real world. When we die we just…die."

Elecmon says nothing, left to stare in disblief at what he's hearing.

At once, Taichi's mind goes back to the electrified wall within the inverted pyramid. The very idea that he could have died in that instant had filled him with a kind of fear that paralyzed him. He wonders still if that kind of fear had gripped any of the others—the realization that, in a mere flash, everything would be over. Koushiro, most certainly, must have realized that. Perhaps even Jyou and Sora. As he thinks on this, Taichi considers why it was that _he_ couldn't see it. Had he just been blind to his own mortality or had it been as simple as he just didn't care? Whatever the case, that was a person of whom Taichi has no desire to return to—the kind of person who would even promote the evolution of a monster like Skull Greymon.

Elecmon, still pondering what Taichi had told him is then taken aback by a dramatic pick-up in the ongoing rainfall. Gallons upon gallons of water cascade against their meager refuge. Automatically, the four of them huddle together amidst the deluge.

"We can't stay here!" Elecmon shouts over the din, "The water is rising quickly! We need to get to higher ground!"

Sora suggests entering one of the buildings but Elecmon expressly forbids it. Taichi also confirms his suspicions of their current surroundings, citing his personal apprehensions in addition to recalling all the encounters he and the others had experienced on File Island. They move on as best they can. The trek is a mired drudge. The water leaves Taich and Sora completely drenched, causing their shoes to become sloshy as they run. Even Elecmon's pace slows to a crawl as his fur becomes more and more soaked. Taichi is barely able to hear him cursing under his breath about this predicament. Then, at long last, Sora spots a multi-layered parking garage covered with vines, noting its layout would provide more than enough cover. The others heartily agree with her and the four of them head that way.

Even as they do so, Taichi catches sight of some ominous figure shrouded in the rain nearby. Frightened, he turns to see what it is. A building stands nearby, sporting a large reflective window pane. Beyond his own reflection, however Taichi sees…

...Nothing! Indeed, just a very large window pane, sleeked with water.

"Taichi, what is it?" Agumon asks, soon after bumping into him.

"I…I thought…" Taichi says.

"What are you guys doing?!" says Elecmon urgently. "We're almost there! Hurry up!"

Taichi acknowledges the red fox and rejoins him and Sora.

Presently, the four of them dip inside the garage, grateful for the refuge. Upon their arrival, Elecmon immediately vibrates his entire body, much like a dog, and scatters the water from his drenched body. A few small jolts of electricity issue from his body as he does so, causing his fur to poof up.

"Hate the rain!" he says, derisively. "Hate it, hate it, hate it…"

Sora stifles a giggle as she watches the red fox combs his paws through his hair, trying to fix himself. Meanwhile Taichi surveys his own clothes, wondering if he would ever be dry again.

"Taichi, there's a lot of machines in here," Agumon says, looking around. Taichi scans the garage, noting a variety of empty vehicles fill the interior of the building; including cars, trucks, and vans, tractors, entire motor homes, and boats too!

"We could probably take shelter in one of these," Taichi suggests, gesturing towards the vehicles.

"Could we get to higher ground first?" Sora says, motioning towards the floor. Sure enough, water has begun to form at the base of the garage, foreshadowing an oncoming flood.

"Over there!" Agumon says, pointing to a fire escape.

The group then climbs to the fourth floor, the highest point before the top. The four of them split off, searching the nearby vehicles for shelter, Taichi comes across a large transit bus. Naturally, the presence of an entire bus within a layered parking garage would have seemed extraordinary. That all being the case, Taichi is used to the odd nature of the Digital World and therefore takes this discovery in stride.

"Here!" he says, signaling the others, "This'll do." Taichi approaches the door and begins tugging on it as the others gather. "It's locked. Agumon, see if you can get it open?"

Eagerly, Agumon complies, stabbing his claws into a gap and giving a good pry. The effort causes the entire door to unhinge itself, surprising even Agumon. Instinctively, they all jump back as the glass and metal shatter on the pavement at their feet!

"I didn't mean to!" Agumon says, putting his claws on his head in despair as sees what he has done.

"It's fine, Agumon," Taichi says, forcing a smile, "it was just the door…"

"I guess you just need to be wary of your newfound strength," Sora says, kindly laying a hand on Agumon's shoulder. "You did good. We can go inside now."

"Just mind the broken glass…" Elecmon mutters.

The four companions enter the bus and are greeted by the sharp scent of plastic. The entire compartment is lined, front-to-back with leather seats. Eagerly, Sora sits down and begins removing her socks and shoes, desperate to be free from the dampness. Taichi does the same, wiggling his toes with great relief.

"I might have to go searching for some new clothes for you two," Elecmon says, giving both humans a once-over, "once the rain stops, anyway."

"Where would we even get new clothes?" Taichi asks, watching as Elecmon paces back and forth, seemingly searching for something.

"You'd be surprised what Digital World provides, Taichi," Elecmon says, "…if you're lucky, anyway. Speaking of which…" Elecmon eyes the overhead compartment of the bus and presently climbs up into it. A bit of rummaging later and Elecmon calls out: "Heads up!" as he tosses down a few cans down Taichi and Agumon's way. The two of them catch them as best they can and, upon inspection, Taichi is delighted to discover they're precooked adzuki beans!

"How did—" Taichi is about to ask. But then, he remembers the egg-filled refrigerator they had found on File Island.

"Lucky!" Sora remarks happily.

Agumon takes one of the cans and eagerly bites into the entire thing before rapidly consuming the contents within.

"You, idiot!" Taichi laughs, "You're supposed to open it first! Anyway, see if you can open mine, and be a bit gentler this time…"

* * *

The four companions then enjoy a short meal together, grateful at their refuge and the sweet taste of red beans filling their mouths. After they eat, Sora makes her way to the back of the bus, eager to remove the rest of her drenched clothes in privacy.

"Elecmon, do you know long we traveled for?" she asks, hanging her clothes on rail nearby.

"A few hours?" Elecmon replies, "There's no telling, especially given the state of the sun."

"I feel like it was a long time," says Sora. "I'm as tired as can be."

"Same here," says Taichi.

"You gave us a good run, Elecmon," Sora laughs.

"I, uh…yeah," Elecmon replies. Then, bashfully, he asks, "Sora, you…you're not still upset with me, are you?"

"Yup, still upset," Sora says. However, her voice is cheerful. From behind the seat cushions in the back, she lifts her arm up and gives Elecmon a thumbs up, "but thanks for looking out for us!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Elecmon says, "I do what I can."

Taichi just smiles.

"As a matter of fact, Elecmon," Sora says, slyly, "don't you think _now_ is a good time to tell us where you're taking us?"

Elecmon looks at Taichi pleadingly. Before Taichi can say anything, however—

"Taichi, I know he is giving you a look right now," Sora says, causing Elecmon to wince. "He is probably begging you to stop me from asking any questions. So, I'll keep things simple: where are heading? That shouldn't be too hard to answer, right?"

"To the Scuzzy District, like I said," Elecmon replies. "To be more specific, Scuzzy is a highly contested section of Multiplex Metropolis. The Metal Empire has been trying to reintegrate it into the main cityscape for…well, for a long time."

"Contested?" Sora asks.

"Yes. A long time ago, the district was wrested from Imperial control by a group of rebels named the Jungle Troopers."

"Is that the fighting we heard earlier?" Taichi asks.

"One would assume so," replies Elecmon, "although it'd be in our best interest not to investigate."

"So, we'll be safe in this Scuzzy District?" Taichi asks.

"Relative to anywhere else in the city, yes," Elecmon replies.

"And then what?" asks Sora. There is no edge to her voice now, which relieves Taichi immensely.

"I…I hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest," Elecmon admits.

"Don't worry about it," Taichi says with determination. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Elecmon nods at Taichi appreciatively, "I like that," he says, referring to Taichi's phrasing. "I'll have to remember that one too…"

* * *

While the lack of any nightfall messes with their circadian rythm, the four companions manage to find some semblance of sleep. Taichi and the others are able to find some comfortability by lying across the cushions of the passenger seats.

As he sleeps, Taichi dreams. Unlike the nightmare he had before, Taichi's dream seems more to be conjured from a recent memory. He finds himself at home with Hikari, looking into the monitor of his home computer. There, before him, is Koushiro's face imposed upon a screen of static. The scene in his dream plays out according to Taichi's memory, only this time, as he attempts to respond to Koushiro, he is made aware of some presence _behind_ Koushiro. Whatever it is, Taichi is unable to determine. Had he seen this before? With great effort, he concentrates on the monitor, trying to figure out what the figure is. Then, in a haze of static, Koushiro face disappears. The static seems to roar at him, causing Taichi to fall backwards instinctively. However, his movements are slow and forced as if impeded by water. Darkness draws around him like a mist, slowly obscuring everything in sight. The computer screen also goes blank.

For a few moments, Taichi finds himself floating in a sea of blackness, unable to determine his surroundings. He stumbles around a bit, his movements stil limpeded, but searching for some source of light or leverage. Then, in the distance, he sees the computer screen again, glowing an eerie red. Slowly, Taichi investigates the screen and as he draws closer, a great red eye appears! As Taichi moves, he realizes the eye is staring at him, following his movements, and drawing ever closer...

A wave of dread hits Taichi as the eye bears down on him. As much as he wants to turn and run, Taichi finds himself rooted to the spot, unable to react. As the eye draws closer, the loud sound of static fills Taichi's ears again. Then he monitor cracks and shatters, causing broken pieces of glass and plastic to fly towards Taichi face! Taichi throws his hands up to shield himself from the blow-

* * *

-and awakens! Taichi gets up with a start, greeting his rise with a stiff neck and sweat streaming from his face. Anxiously, he lifts his right hand for inspection, but is relieved to see that the black mark had not progressed much, if at all. In fact, Taichi wonders if the spreading had stopped altogether. Looking around him, Taichi sees Agumon fast asleep and further down the bus he sees Sora's feet sticking out from behind another pair of seats. Elecmon, however, is nowhere to be seen. Peering outside the windows, Taichi eventually spots the red fox sitting on the balcony encircling the parking garage. Elecmon seems to be watching as the rain pours down outside. Curious, Taichi dons his shorts and shoes, both still damp from the rain, and exits the bus.

The rain had lessened but not stopped. A cool breeze hits Taichi as he steps off the bus and he wraps his arms around his shoulders instinctively. Nevertheless, he makes his way over to Elecmon. As he walks, Taichi can distinctly hear the sound of the ongoing downpour hitting a larger body of water. Assuming the worst, Taichi reaches the balcony and finds much of the surrounding area has become flooded.

"Trouble sleeping?" Elecmon asks, acknowledging Taichi.

"A bit," Taichi replies, rubbing the back of his neck. He wonders if he should tell Elecmon the details of his recently nightmares. Unfortunately, the clarity of either dreams is now lost to him. All he can remember is Koushiro's glazed face calling out to him beyond the monitor of his home computer. So, Taichi settles with small talk: "How high did the water get?"

"About two meters?" Elecmon guesses. "Anyway, we're fine up here. But if we wanted to travel any further, we'd be forced to go swimming."

"What have you been doing?" Taichi asks.

"Thinking, mostly," Elecmon says with sigh.

"About what?"

Elecmon turns and gazes at the bus for moment or two before saying, "there are some things I wanted to discuss with you, Taichi."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, then."

"First off, I want to thank you for earlier. I've gotten into arguments with Sora before and they never end well."

"You should really be thanking Agumon."

"I will. I've never seen that kind of thing from another Digimon, Taichi."

Taichi regards him curiously, "What? What kind of thing are you talking about?"

"It's a Chosen Child thing. I don't know what you would call it, but whatever it is, it's not something Digimon do."

Taichi shrugs, "most Digimon we've encountered want to fight us."

"That's natural. It's how we are."

"That can't be true. _You're_ not like that, Elecmon."

Elecmon goes silent for a moment and peers into the rain, pondering. At length, he replies, "I _was_ like that, Taichi. Before I met Sora…"

Taichi cocks his head to the side questioningly.

The red fox sighs deeply. "This is the problem Taichi," he says, "I've a whole new world of feelings, emotions, all swirling around inside me. I don't know how to describe them or tell you how they got there. All I know is that they weren't there before I met Sora. She _changed_ me, Taichi. Beforehand, I'd have never cared about her or you or Agumon or anyone else except for myself. My survival was my main concern and my next evolution was all that drove me to do anything."

Taichi listens intently, but says nothing, unsure exactly of how to respond.

"She means everything to me, Taichi," Elecmon says. "I can't imagine how utterly pointless my life would have been if I had never found her."

"Well…you know," Taichi says, "you really shouldn't keep secrets from her if that's how you feel."

"What? I could never…I mean, I—" Elecmon coughts, clears his throat and recomposes himself, "I can't, Taichi."

"Can't what?"

"I've done some terrible things, Taichi," Elecmon becomes very solemn, "and I don't want to taint Sora's impression of who I am."

Taichi nods and, respectfully, doesn't pry. Instead, he says, "That 'Chosen Child thing' you were talking about earlier? Well, you should know that Sora will forgive you, Elecmon. It's just the way she is."

"I know, Taichi," Elecmon says, turning away again. "In fact, that's what I'm afraid of. I…I don't deserve it."

Taichi nods again without replying.

Both of them go silent once again, content to listen to the soothing sound of the rain falling about them. Taichi thinks back and remembers various occasions where he would watch the rainfall from his living room. Often, he would get upset because he wouldn't be allowed to play outside. Here, however, Taichi feels a sense of peace despite the various unknowns. He closes his eyes. Just as the sun itself had fixed itself within the sky, so too does Taichi wish the rain would run everlasting, so long as he would be allowed to remain dry and listen to its steady patter from afar.

"I think know what happened to you and Agumon…" Elecmon says.

Taichi's eyes shoot open. Eagerly, he asks, "You do?!"

Elecmon nods, "When Etemon corrupted the network beneath the Server Continent, he did it through some kind of…malicious coding."

"Coding?" Taichi asks.

"A virus," Elecmon explains.

Taichi nods. While lacking a more complex familiarity with computer terminology, he has at least some idea as to what a computer virus is.

Elecmon continues: "The children who were raised in the facility were made to evolve into Betamon, Elecmon, and Agumon." Disgust colors Elecmon's face, "I'll spare the details on how Etemon went about forcing their evolutions."

"So, there were Agumon too?" Taichi remarks. Then, thinking about it, he recalls the encounter at the colosseum in the desert, where partner Greymon was forced to fight with a rogue Greymon under Etemon's control. He mentions this to Elecmon who nods.

"Yes. Did you know that Greymon evolutions are pretty rare?" he says, "Anyway, the point is that most of the children would evolve into Tyranomon and Monochromon. That was considered the 'norm'…." Elecmon sighs and grits his teeth, "…until Etemon decided to experiment with them..."

"What did he do?" Taich asks.

"A virus, like I was saying," Elecmon replies. "I'm not sure how it was administered, but a few of the children evolved into Dark Tyranomon after they were exposed."

" _Dark_ Tyranomon…?"

Elecmon nods, "Sometimes, Digimon can become exposed to various computer viruses that corrupt their configuration data, transforming them. As was the case for the Tyranomon, their bodies turned black—just like Agumon's—and their strength increased. They were far more ferocious than the regular Tyranomon."

"But we never encountered any Dark Tyranomon in the desert..."

"That's because…Etemon destroyed them all…" tears form below Elecmon's eyes as he speaks, "Every Dark Tyranomon went into a frenzy. Etemon wasn't able to control them like the others, so he just destroyed them outright." Elecmon's face droops. Taichi says nothing, but with his good hand attempts to out to comfort the red fox. Elecmon holds up a paw in protest. "I don't need your pity, Taichi," he says, trying to recompose himself. "I…I just wanted you to know that I think Agumon may be infected with the same virus."

"Really?" Taichi says, "and is that's what caused _this_?" Taichi lifts up his right hand and points to the Digivice embedded within.

Elecmon shakes his head sadly, admitting, "I don't have an answer for _that_ , unfortunately. I'm not an expert on Chosen Children or their Digivices. You guys were just rumors and wild tales…until I found Sora, anyway."

"But you _know_ things, Elecmon. You knew _something_ was down there and whatever it was…it terrified you, didn't it?" Taichi is, of course, referring to their earlier descent down the stairwell.

"That…that's an entirely different matter, Taichi." Elecmon stares blankly at the water below. "It's something that…that I need to figure out, first."

" _We_ need to figure it out," Taichi expresses with determination.

The red fox nods back at him respectfully, "yes, of course."

"Do you know if there is a cure for this?"

Elecmon face falls and he shakes his head sadly, "I don't."

"Is it contagious?"

Elecmon shakes his head again, "I'm sorry, but I don't know that either…" however, Elecmon looks at Taichi earnestly and adds, "but I won't be deterred! Even if Agumon _is_ contagious. Like I said, I'm with you, even if it means risking my own health and well-being because of it."

Taichi smiles at him gratefully, "Thank you, Elecmon."

"You're welcome," Elecmon smiles, "but, as I keep telling you, Sora is the one you should really be thanking."

Taichi studies his blackened arm for a moment, saying, "and if there is a cure out there...well, I guess we will just have to find it."

"At any rate, you seem to be resisting it," Elecmon observes. "Is it painful?"

"Not right now," Taichi bends his elbow and wiggles his fingers a few times, "I still can't feel it, though."

"It's odd…" Elecmon says, eyeing the Digivice embedded in Taichi's palm.

"What is?"

"That tech," Elecmon points at the Digivice, "you said it was just tossed into your world, right? Without any instructions?" He shakes his head, "I can't think of why anyone would do that."

Taichi shrugs, "I'd settle for knowing _who_ brought us here in first place, let alone _why._ "

"True, true," Elecmon nods. "That's another thing: the old man who contacted you at File Island. What was his name again?"

"Gennai."

"Yeah, that guy. I've never heard of an 'non-Digimon' like him. From your story, it sounds like he was being very selective about what he told you. Very suspicious if you ask me."

Taichi laughs, "you're hardly in a place to judge that, Elecmon."

"What do you mean? I…" and then, Elecmon turns away in embarrassment, realizing his own hypocrisy. "…you're right, of course. I have no excuse."

Another moment of silence, of listening to the rain, of thoughts unspoken fluttering through the minds of both human and Digimon.

"Earlier," Elecmon says, "we were talking about File Island and Digimon being reborn, right?"

Taichi nods.

"You said that doesn't happen in your world, right?"

Taichi nods again.

"Well, I was thinking. You're _here_ now," Elecmon motions around himself, "I mean, you're in the Digital World, right? So, I was thinking that maybe it _is_ possible that you'd be reborn if you died."

Taichi thinks on this and recalls his behavior at the inverted pyramid. Shortly after Koushiro had informed them about their bodies having become pure data, Taichi had assumed that he and the others were basically invincible. To Elecmon, Taichi gives a brief recount as to what Koushiro had told them.

"Sounds like Koushiro was just being justifiably cautious," Elecmon says. "Good advice, at any rate. Koushiro sounds like he is a good friend."

"We rely…" Taichi begins to say. Then, catching himself, he says "or, rather, we 'relied' on him a lot," Here, Taichi thinks of the message Koushiro had sent him back at home. "He told me not to come back…"

"Yes, I remember you saying that too," Elecmon scratches his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know what to make of that either. Given how the passage of time works, that message may have contacted you months or perhaps weeks prior to today."

"I thought as much," Taichi says sadly.

"We won't give up on him or the rest of your friends, Taichi," Elecmon lays a firm paw on Taichi's arm.

Taichi nods gratefully, but doesn't reply.

"Anyway," Elecmon says, trying to get back on topic, "I'm still trying to grasp the fact that…in your world, your kind are something _other_ than data?"

"I guess, I never thought about it from your perspective," Taichi admits. "Existing entirely as data is strange to think about for us."

"Yeah, your world just sounds…weird," Elecmon shudders. "Anyway, Taichi, what I wanted to say earlier is we _still_ don't really know for sure what will happen to a Chosen Child who dies in the Digital World."

"I suppose that's true," Taichi says, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, no need to get suspicious," Elecmon says, raising a paw in protest, "I have no intention of making this an experiment. I was just…well, I was thinking about the implications…" Elecmon turns around again and observes the transit bus behind them.

"What implications?" Taichi asks.

"Let's consider the possibility that, in this world, you—the Chosen Children—work like Digimon do…"

"Okay?"

"If you died…then, being reborn would mean you…you wouldn't be the same as you were before," Elecmon peers into Taichi's eyes earnestly, "Do you realize what that would mean?"

"If…if I died…then…" Taichi takes a few seconds to make sense of it all. For a few moments, he looks towards the bus as Elecmon had before the realization dawns on him! "Sora?!" he gasps.

"Exactly!" Elecmon snaps his claws together like a pair of fingers. "Let's suppose that _Sora_ —or the Sora you knew—died. If that happened, then it's possible that her data may have been dissimilated and reconstituted—"

"No!" Taichi interrupts, almost shouting.

A soft boom of thunder rolls through the clouds above. Warily, both Elecmon and Taichi observe the bus, wondering if Sora had awoken. Yet, not a stir can be detected from within the bus. Regardless, neither Taichi nor Elecmon say anything to each other for a while, but are left in quiet contemplation. Within that time, Taichi scrambles his brain, trying to come with a reason—any reason—why Elecmon's theory wouldn't work. He only breaks the silence to ask a few questions about Elecmon's discovering Sora, confirming that Sora was found wearing the same clothes as she always had and, by all appearances, she was still an eleven-year-old child. In Taichi's mind, Elecmon's theory conflicted with the fact that the Village of Beginnings was full of eggs and babies, not children.

"You're correct," Elecmon admits. "But then again, all of this might work differently for your kind. Chosen Children are new to the Digital World, after all, so…" he shrugs. "Anyway, maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part."

Taichi gapes at him incredulously, "Wishful thinking?!"

Elecmon's brow furrows, "I mean, I don't _wish_ that Sora died and was reborn, obviously! It's just that…well, given her amnesiac state, it would explain a lot…and…in a way, it means we're both alike, Sora and I," thoughtfully, he adds, "we're both just trying to figure out who we are."

"It seems like a huge stretch," says Taichi, shaking his head, "A _new_ Sora? That's just…I don't know…"

"I shouldn't have said anything," Presently, Elecmon steps down from the balcony and starts walking back to the bus. As he goes, he turns and says, "anyway, I hope you understand why I ran this by you in private. I had a feeling Sora wouldn't have reacted kindly to all of it."

"Still, you _should_ be honest with her."

"Yeah…" Elecmon nods. Then, smiling, he mentions, "this was good, Taichi. Talk is good. We should do it again sometime."

Taichi gives him a thumbs up and smiles back at the red fox. Elecmon nods appreciatively and departs the scene, leaving Taichi to his own thoughts and feelings.

As the rain continues to fall, Taichi finds himself thinks about Elecmon's theory, despite what he had said against it. With great effort, he tries pushing the entire idea from his thoughts altogether, but he cannot help but consider the prospect of having to be re-introduced to some or even all his friends. What if they had died over the past months in Taichi's absence? With regard to how he feels about that, Taichi also considers the wisdom of Elecmon's not having told Sora about his theory. There is no telling how she would have reacted.

Desperate to set his mind on other things, Taichi studies his blackened arm once again. Hopelessly, he moves his fingers, testing the numbness, noting the strangeness of constantly having arm that is connected to but also set apart from himself. As much as he wants to find a cure, that image of Koushiro on his home computer stays with him and terrifies him. Thinking back at what Elecmon had told him about finding Koushiro, Taichi wonders if _that_ should be a priority now. Could he afford to lay low in the Scuzzy District for a time knowing his friends may still be out and about fighting who-knows-what? Before he would help his friends and the Digital World, Taichi thinks the best course of actions ought to be to help himself first.

All of a sudden, Taichi yawns, seemingly having become fatigued by mulling all this new information. Presently, he heads back to the bus, hoping to find some rest again before the inevitable set-out that would follow his next wake.


End file.
